In Saecula Saeculorum
by samurai-ashes
Summary: [sequel to Third Grade Logic - YuugixMokuba, SetoxJounouchi] 4 years later, Mokuba still has Yuugi. Seto still hasn't completely gotten over Yami, but everyone moves on eventually... [complete]
1. Reminiscent

**_Ashes doesnt not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Etch-a-Sketch. Ashes is poor. Everyone play the saddest song on the tiniest violin for Ashes... ^^_**

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**given FF.net's new policy on AN's as a seperate chapter, the pre-story author's notes were deleted. however, I still think they're important, so if you would like to read them, they can be found here:  
http : // www. geocities. com / enjoythehiatus / stories / iss / an.html  
only remove the spaces. of course. ^^;;**

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**Part I:  
(Reminiscent)**

Seto watched as Mokuba dropped into Yuugi's lap, grinning like the Cheshire cat. It was really amazing; after four years Mokuba still managed to light up whenever he was near Yuugi. That was enough to assure Seto that his decision years ago had been the right one… 

"Would you like something to drink, Kaiba?" Yuugi's question brought Seto from his memories and back into the real world. He found it difficult to look at Yuugi; it had been like that since Seto had stopped seeing Yami. There were too many reminders, especially now that Yuugi was older. He had gotten a little taller (though not by much; he was maybe 5'1", 5'2"), and he was a little less boyish looking… but he still didn't look much older than Mokuba, who was - at seventeen - about the same height and build as Yuugi, his features more defined… and yet his boyish charm had somehow managed to survive puberty. Seto had always suspected that Mokuba would hit a growth spurt; he must have been mistaken. Once again, Yuugi's voice pulled Seto from reverie. "I think we have something besides tap water…" 

Anzu rolled her eyes, and Seto found it easier to focus on her. "Yuugi, you and Jounouchi are the worst people to live together: neither of you clean, cook, or have enough wits to remember to pick up groceries. I'm surprised your bills get paid." Anzu disappeared into the doorway that led to the kitchenette. According to Anzu, she had cleaned the apartment for the anniversary party. Seto had only been to Yuugi and Jounouchi's apartment one other time in the two years they had lived together, and that time he had stood in the hallway and waited for Mokuba… 

Damn it, why was he reminiscing? Mokuba had asked him to stay, and he was going to pay attention to his surroundings; it wasn't like him to drift away in his own thoughts like that. He forced himself to pay attention to the conversation. 

Yuugi was laughing, "…and for your information, Jou is good with bills; I just give him what I need to pay and leave it to him." 

Seto scoffed. There. That was something he could focus on doing: mocking Jounouchi. "That's amusing. I wouldn't trust that mutt to tie his own shoelaces." 

Jounouchi bristled from his seat on the couch. He had been talking to Honda, but stopped to turn around and glare at Seto. "You're too kind," he tossed back, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "because that's more than I'd trust you with, you sleazy-" 

"Guys," Mokuba groaned, his voice amusingly close to a whine; it was enough to make Seto want to crack a small smile. "Not tonight." 

"Yea," Anzu chimed in. "Today we should be celebrating; Yuugi and Mokuba have been together four years! Can't you guys set aside your differences for a couple of hours?" 

Jounouchi took one more moment to glare before shrugging and turning his back to Seto. "Fine." He murmured something that sounded like "asshole" before he started talking to Honda again. Seto looked at Mokuba. 

"Your taste in friends is deplorable," Seto told him, and Mokuba laughed. 

--

Seto had spent most the party sitting in the corner, drinking water and munching on food when it was offered to him. He had stayed as late as he could stand, and the clock on the dashboard of the car read 12:37 AM when they finally left. Seto had arrived at the apartment 4 PM that day. Mokuba had been there since that morning. Seto would probably never understand how Mokuba seemed to have so much fun in such mundane circumstances… 

Leaving the party was more than a relief. Throughout the night he been reminded time and time again that he had nothing to say among that group of people; they had no common interests, no similar wants or needs… nothing. It probably didn't help that he could find flaws in any one of them too easily, and was quickly discontent with their banter and triviality. The only person he had spoken more than 2 sentences to was Mokuba. Speaking of Mokuba… He noticed his younger brother was stifling a yawn, leaning against the window with drooping eyes. 

"You're going to be dragging ass in work tomorrow," Seto chided softly. Mokuba had started working at Kaiba Corp when he turned sixteen, falling into all the roles that had been his in name since he was a child, but he had been unable to fulfill entirely until he was an adult. 

"I know," Mokuba said. "But it was a celebration; I'd pick Yuugi over work 5 out of 7 days of the week." 

"Why only 5?" 

"Well, a guy's gotta eat." 

Seto laughed. "That's justified." He continued to drive in silence; they were almost home. 

"Say, Seto, do you mind if I got on a camping trip this weekend?" 

"Who with?" 

Mokuba yawned again. "Some friends from school. We said we'd meet up this summer; Senko called this afternoon and told me that the whole group was going. We'll get back Sunday morning." 

"And when do you plan to leave?" Seto was trying his hardest not to yawn; his brother's sleepiness was getting to him. 

"Friday afternoon." 

Seto mulled it over. Mokuba didn't have to work that weekend, and he wouldn't have done anything at home anyway. "Go ahead." 

"Thanks." Seto nodded even though he knew Mokuba wouldn't see. Admittedly, it had taken time for him to get used to the fact that Mokuba wasn't going to spend his life with Seto, but he hadn't fought it. He supposed to blow had been lessened significantly by his short romance with Yami… but Seto tried not to make a habit of thinking about it. He shook his head a little, as though that would help clear his thoughts away, like his memories would be like an etch-a-sketch; temporary and easy to erase. He knew otherwise; he knew that he could shake his head all night if he wanted to, but when he was done all he'd be left with was a headache and just as many memories as he had started with… but probably a few less brain cells. 

Seto pulled up to the house, the gates opening before he entered. He would have to tell the night guard not to do that again; for all the guard knew, someone could have stolen Seto's car and snuck in the house as him. Mokuba's voice broke through Seto's thoughts for what seemed to be the millionth time that night. "Seto, did you enjoy yourself tonight?" 

Seto wouldn't lie; he shrugged and said, "It was time I could have spent working." 

Mokuba sighed. "There's more to life that work." Seto didn't bother talking until they had left the car and were at the front door of their home. 

"I have nothing in common with your friends. I'm not like you; I don't spontaneously enjoy myself." 

"I know," Mokuba said, a sad tinge to his voice. "You enjoy formulas and technology and all those cold, impersonal things. I don't think that's healthy, Seto." 

Seto choose to ignore his brother's concern as they stood by the front door. "Go and sleep." 

"What about you?" 

"I'm going to see what I didn't do today." 

Mokuba looked at Seto reproachfully. "You need sleep too." 

"I sleep plenty." 

"Liar; I can hear you at your computer at all hours of the night. I'm not going to bed until you go to bed, so if you want me alert in the morning, you'd better get some sleep too," Mokuba threatened, his hands on his hips, staring up at his brother. 

Seto glared. "That's manipulative." 

Mokuba grinned and leaned against the wall, saying solemnly, "The art of manipulation is sometimes the quickest way to get what you want. It may be devious, but it's effective." A moment of silence passed between the brothers. 

"I taught you that." 

"Yup." Mokuba crossed his arms over his chest. "So which is it, work or my well-being?" 

When he put it like that… Damn kid. Seto really did love him too much. "Fine. Bed." They walked together in silence, Mokuba looking smug as ever as he followed beside Seto. Mokuba didn't speak until he reached his bedroom door, just a few doors down from Seto's. 

"G'night," he mumbled, quickly disappearing into his own room. Seto heard the lock click into place once the door was closed. He went to his own room, true to his word. Unfortunately, he wasn't particularly tired. He usually only slept a few hours a night, if he slept at all. After a couple years on that schedule he had adapted to it without flaw. Some days it made him feel numb, but that often came in handy when working with liars and businessmen (though the two were often one and the same). If he tried to go to sleep too early, he would only toss, turn, and think all night… 

He always managed to think of Yami the most when he was lying in bed. 

After they had stopped seeing each other, Seto did everything he could think of to stop pining after the spirit like a heartsick widow. That led him to buy a new bed with new sheets, blankets, pillows, and pillowcases. Everything was different in both color and design. The old bed with all its old bedclothes and accessories was gathering dust in a storage unit somewhere on the estate; he had told one of his workers to move it, under strict orders not tell him where it was. 

Then Seto had realized that it went beyond his bed: he ended up purchasing a new kitchen table and a new couch… When Mokuba had found out, he asked to keep the old couch, and since Seto was too embarrassed to tell Mokuba WHY he was compulsively replacing the furniture, he had agreed. It had taken all of Seto's self-control not to replace the shower in his room. 

At least he hadn't needed to replace his car. 

Seto frowned at his sheets (even though he knew they were inanimate and therefore incapable of caring if he frowned at them) as he undressed, not bothering with pajamas as he crawled into bed. He didn't like his sheets; where cream-colored sheets had once adorned his bed, it was now covered in black. While it may have been complete opposition to what he had once slept on, they looked too coarse, too… extreme, even for him. Not to mention that the contrast of his skin against the dark color made him look almost ghostly pale, and for some reason that bothered him. 

At least his bed was comfortable. 

Seto yawned despite himself. Sleep was coming much easier than he had expected… 

Then again, thinking about the past was probably the most exhausting activity he ever engaged in. 

- end part i -

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**- author thoughts... -**  
I… am so scared. *quake quake* I worry this is starting too slow… or that it doesn't do that… thing… that stories should do… You know? 

I, admittedly, had way too much fun with implying all the different places that Seto and Yami went at it… XD It's my favorite part of this whole part… 

I originally tried to open the story on Mokuba's POV… but when that didn't work, I shifted it to Seto. Then it came. How cool. Other than that, there really isn't much to say about Part I… 

And WOW! I gave Hanachan a piece of work with this part… and she in turn gave me a cardiac event when I opened it and saw her multitude of notes… so between the two of us I'd say I've been sufficiently whipped into shape. I want to say she wasn't very happy with me, considering the words: **_ Holy bleedin' shit. I go on siesta for ONE WEEK and you pound me with this!_** *heart heart* I love her to death. 


	2. Boobs & Booze

**_Ashes does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all it's characters are property of Kazuki Takahashi_**

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**Part II  
(Boobs & Booze)**

"Hey, Yuugi, you want to come up to Tokyo with us?" Jounouchi asked when Yuugi emerged from his room on Saturday morning. Yuugi smiled as he noticed Jounouchi was watching cartoons, munching on cold leftover rice. 

"What for?" Yuugi asked, going into the kitchenette to find something to eat, secretly glad that Anzu had bought groceries when she invited everyone over for the anniversary. In the end, he made some toast and made his way back into the living area, dropping onto the couch next to Jounouchi. "Is there something in Tokyo we can't get here?" 

"Otogi wants to go to a strip club, maybe do some bar hopping. He invited me and Honda to go, and I figured since Mokuba's gone for the weekend you might want to come with." 

Yuugi grinned as he ate his toast. "You guys would drive for three hours to go to a strip club? There are plenty of those here," he said with a mouth half-full of toast. 

Jounouchi shrugged, his attention turning back to the TV. "Fresh meat, I guess. Just think of the drive as bonding time between friends." 

"Okay. What time are we getting back?" 

"I don't know, depends on if we have a designated driver." 

"I can do that. I'd rather be home by tomorrow morning." 

Jounouchi snickered and wrapped his arm affectionately around Yuugi's shoulders. "You are so hopelessly in love, did you know that? It's so damn sweet that it could give a man cavities." 

Yuugi smiled. "That was corny, Jou." But it was true: Yuugi did love Mokuba, and everyone knew it. But… "Sometimes I wonder if the feeling is mutual." 

"Eh?" Jou responded with confusion. "What would make you worry about something like that?" 

"I'm Mokuba's first. I expect him to get bored and move on, experiment more. After all, isn't that what teenagers do?" 

"Yuugi… you have never been so wrong. Mokuba is devoted to you; everyone can see it. You shouldn't be so paranoid." 

"I know, but… he gets hit on all the time. He is a Kaiba after all, and he can be just as arrogant as his brother at times. Someday, it just might occur to him that his options aren't limited, and he might want to just… play the field." 

Jounouchi groaned. "That's ridiculous. And don't compare Kaiba and Mokuba… that's just wrong. But trust me, buddy, you've got nothing to worry about. So have some fun tonight, all right?" 

Yuugi smiled brightly. Somehow, Jounouchi always made him feel better. "Okay. I'll have fun, I promise." 

--

By the time they arrived in Tokyo, Yuugi vowed never to "bond" with his friends via car trip ever again. It hadn't helped much that Honda kept asking Yuugi if he was sure Mokuba wouldn't mind they were taking him all the way to Tokyo to a strip club (to which Yuugi replied that if there weren't other men stripping, then Mokuba wouldn't mind at all), but it was mostly Otogi's driving: he drove like a bat out of hell. Yuugi was sure they were going to get a ticket for speeding on the toll road… and he still wasn't sure how that ticket had never come, but he wasn't going to knock it. It was 7 PM when they arrived in Tokyo, and Yuugi was almost excited that traffic forced Otogi to slow down. 

"Let's get some food first," Jounouchi suggested. "It's too early to go anywhere else, and I'm starving!" 

"You're **always** starved, Jou," Otogi retorted. Jounouchi shrugged and grinned. 

"Then we should get some food; you wouldn't want my rumbling stomach scaring off your girls." 

They went to dinner, unoriginal as it was, at McDonalds; it was close to one of the places Otogi wanted to go first. Yuugi noticed that Jounouchi was unusually quiet throughout the whole of dinner, letting Otogi, Honda, and Yuugi do most of the talking, and occasionally pitching in an opinion here and there. It was strange. Jounouchi wasn't able to surprise Yuugi very often. 

"Are you okay?" Yuugi asked as they walked to their destination. 

Jounouchi answered perkily, "Fine." 

Honda noticed Yuugi's question and waited for Jounouchi and Yuugi to catch up. "Don't worry about him; I'm sure he's just excited; I know I am." He wrapped his arm around Jounouchi's shoulders. "New place, new girls… It'll be great!" 

"Heh," Jounouchi responded, shrugging Honda's arm off. "It's a shame all the girls fall for me first." Yuugi noted that Jounouchi's words were confident, but his tone was a little less assured. Yuugi frowned; Jounouchi wasn't nervous about meeting new girls, was he? That was completely unlike him. 

Otogi cut in, "I've got you both beat. Women fall to my feet like peasants to a king." Yuugi laughed and left the three of them to their debate until they arrived to the strip club. 

…Which wasn't very interesting. Yuugi had expected to be bored, so it didn't come as a shock that he wasn't as fascinated as his friends… though he was amused by some of the ways the women could bend: he expected one of them to snap in half at any moment. Yuugi ended up watching a small TV in the corner, occasionally jumping into the conversations his three friends were having. That was when he realized that Jounouchi was quiet once again. He watched as Jounouchi took a sip of his beer, eyes also fixed on the TV. 

"Jou," he asked warily, "why are you watching TV?" 

Jounouchi glanced towards the stripper currently winding her way around the pole on stage. "She's not very interesting." 

"What do you mean?" Otogi demanded. "She's great! Look at her!" 

"Oh, stop droolin'. They're just boobs." 

Yuugi gawked and his voice was full of wonder as he questioned, "When did you stop liking girls?" Both Honda and Otogi were now focusing their undivided attention on Jounouchi, and the blond blushed, taking a swig of his beer. 

"It's not that I, ah, don't **like** girls, I just…" 

Yuugi understood and finished with a note of triumph, "You like boys too!" Jounouchi hesitated before nodding. Honda looked like he had swallowed a bar of soap, and Otogi was shaking with suppressed laughter. 

"So, wait, you're bi?" Honda asked. Jounouchi nodded once again, taking another gulp of his drink and looking increasingly nervous. There was an awkward moment of silence before Honda slowly said, "Okay. I was going to be worried if all my friends turned out gay." 

Otogi leaned over and wrapped his arms around Honda's shoulders. "You still got me to worry about, baby," he commented, pecking Honda's cheek. Honda made a face and shook Otogi off. 

"Sorry," he said, a comical twinkle in his eyes, "you're not my type." 

Jounouchi chuckled, apparently put at ease by the banter amongst his friends. Yuugi was glad that Honda was taking the news so well. He could still remember the way Honda had stared at him for five straight minutes when he learned that Yuugi and Mokuba were together. "Well why not," Jounouchi asked, "Otogi's feminine enough." Otogi scowled and flipped him off. Jounouchi smiled sweetly. "Sorry; you're not my type either." 

Yuugi started laughing so hard that he was sure the whole building heard him. "Looks like you're stuck with girls tonight, Otogi." 

Otogi flashed Yuugi a lecherous grin. "I'm okay with that. Man, you really don't know what you're missing." 

Yuugi shrugged. "And I don't care to find out. But, Jou, how did realize you were bisexual?" Yuugi couldn't help but notice that he said "bisexual" as though he cherished the word; it was exciting to learn he and Jounouchi had more in common than he had known. 

"A friend," Jou answered cryptically. 

"Ooh, do I know him?" 

Jou nodded. "You did." 

Honda stared. "Did? Did he move away?" 

Jou cringed. "Something like that." 

"Oh!" Yuugi said. His amusement was quick to change to dismay. "Was it Ryou?" Jounouchi nodded, and there was a moment of discomfort among the four males. Yuugi finally asked, "Were you guys together when-" 

"Nah," Jounouchi answered, looking up. He was smiling, and the sight was relieving. At least Jounouchi hadn't been upset by Yuugi's questions. "It was never like that. We were just really good friends." 

In any other circumstance, Yuugi would have found that amusing, but it didn't seem appropriate to laugh right then. Yuugi was more than eager to change the subject. "So, are there any other guys you've got your eye on?" 

Jounouchi blushed again. "No; I'm on a 'look but don't touch' basis right now." 

"Ah," Otogi said. "You're just nervous to shack up with someone else. Either way, I'm bored. You guys ready to do some drinking?" Jounouchi was the first one standing. 

"Let's party," he said. 

--

It was 4 AM when Yuugi pulled Otogi's car into the parking lot of the apartment building. Honda and Otogi were literally piled on top of each other in the backseat, both passed out soundly. Jounouchi was sitting in the passenger seat, keeping Yuugi entertained, and even though he had drunk too much to drive, he was surprisingly sober. 

"We should leave 'em in the car," he said. "I don't want to lug their asses upstairs." 

Yuugi leaned his head back against the seat, turning off the car. "What if something bad happens to them?" he retorted. "We can't do that. Besides, you had no problems with grabbing Otogi's ass earlier…" 

Jounouchi blushed. "He started it. He shouldn't have made that comment that he had never been hit on by another guy…" 

Yuugi and Jounouchi sat in silence; Yuugi didn't know what was going through Jounouchi's mind, but **he** was trying to think of ways to get their two drunken counterparts up to their apartment. 

Jounouchi was first to break the silence. "What's it like, being with Mokuba for four years?" 

Yuugi smiled warmly at the thought of Mokuba. He missed him, and it had only been two days. Jounouchi was right; it was so sweet it COULD give a man cavities. "It's great… a little shocking at times, but great." Yuugi looked to his friend. "And what was it like with you and Ryou?" 

"Kinky," Jounouchi answered without hesitation, and in the dim light Yuugi could see he was grinning. "Which was a lot of fun, once I got all the shit sorted out and was able to cope with liking guys and all." 

"How did it happen?" 

Jounouchi's grin widened, and Yuugi had to smile; it was contagious. "He cornered me in the bathroom at school one day and kissed me. I won't lie, he was a terrific kisser - hell, he was great in just about everything he did with his mouth - but it freaked me out, ya know? I even had to cancel my date that weekend: I was that confused. She was hot too," Jounouchi added wistfully. 

"You have no regrets." It wasn't a question, it was statement; Yuugi could tell. 

"Nope. It was fun while it lasted, and it ended well." 

"How?" 

"One day he was just… done with our games. He told me goodbye and hooked me up with a great girl on his way out. We were just friends after that. Ryou was a great guy." Yuugi found something disturbing and sad about Jounouchi referring to his relationship with Ryou as "games." Yuugi had hoped the story would be a little deeper, more meaningful. Another moment of silence passed between them. "When does Mokuba get back tomorrow… um, today?" 

"Around ten." 

"Then we need to go to bed," Jounouchi said, reaching over the seat and smacking Honda. "Get up." 

"Ugh," Honda grunted in his sleep. He tried to roll over, but in all his squirming he managed to knock Otogi to the floor. The black-haired male blinked several times, slowly waking. 

"Huh?" he finally asked almost incoherently. "Are we back?" 

"Yea," Yuugi answered. "You guys can crash on the couch or something." Yuugi got out of the car and went to the back door, opening it and helping Otogi out. Otogi leaned against the car, yawning. 

"You shoulda left us in the car," he murmured, and Jounouchi flashed Yuugi an "I told you so" look as he dragged Honda to his feet. Yuugi and Jounouchi managed to get their friends up the apartment with no damage… even though Jounouchi callously dropped Honda onto the floor in front of the couch when they got there. After leaving the passed-out males a couple blankets, Jounouchi and Yuugi retired to their respective rooms for the night. 

- end part ii -

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**- author's thoughts... -**  
**_a great thanks to purplechaos04 (over at MediaMiner) for pointing out a callous miswording. My bad. ARIGATO!!!!_** *being all stalkery and over-enthusiastic about it... but deal. ^_^* 

This is starting pretty slow, huh? Hmm… I'm sorry. v.v 

Hehe, all you HondaxOtogi fans can pick up your jaws; I just wanted to have fun with those two. They're straight in the story… though Honda does have another questionable moment later… 

You know, I was thinking… I really don't like the last line of part I. I mean, I like the MEANING to it, but I don't like the way I phrased it. It sounds really haughty to me. But I've had an English teacher who ingrained in my head that "things" is a bad word, so I struggle with when to use it and when not to… arg arg. I don't know. 

Sorry this took so long; I've had it since last Sunday, but just NOW got off my ass to work on it. ^^ 

Ahh, that Ryou thing... eventually it does get explained, but it didn't fit into the story here. But it does get explained. Funny, as its not a big point in the story, lol. But I don't know, I thought the crypticness was fun. :) 


	3. Misinterpretations

**_Ashes does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!. Yu-Gi-Oh! & all it's characters/settings belong to Kazuki Takahashi._**

* * *

**Part III  
(Misinterpretations)**

Yuugi almost didn't get up when his alarm clock went off the next morning at 10. Mokuba wouldn't mind; Yuugi could just call him and tell him that he needed a few more hours of sleep before his brain would be able to function… In the end, his excitement to see Mokuba overran his need for rest and he sat up, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. 

_"Isn't it early?"_ Yami asked. 

_"Not really."_

Yami retorted, "_Well it feels early to me. You're tired. Go back to bed." _

"If you can feel that I'm tired then you can also tell that I want to see Mokuba. I'll go to bed early tonight." 

"Fine, but if I get stuck working your shift at the game shop one more time…" 

Yuugi grinned at Yami's empty threats; he knew that if he were too tired, Yami would do it for him… but he didn't intend to do that. Yuugi rolled out of the bed, surprisingly awake. He didn't bother getting dressed; he just put on a t-shirt and left on his pajamas pants. He didn't even intend to put shoes on, since he pair of slippers on the way out of his bedroom. He brushed his hair some, just so it wasn't so unruly. Mokuba really wouldn't care if Yuugi looked like he had just crawled out of bed. 

He wasn't at all shocked to see that he was the only one in the apartment awake. Otogi and Honda were still asleep right where they had fallen, and Jounouchi's bedroom door was closed. 

The drive to see Mokuba was uneventful; Yuugi listened to the radio and tried to stop from bouncing in his seat with anticipation. But as he drove up, his excitement changed as he noticed something… Mokuba was leaning against a wall that blocked the Kaiba estate off from the rest of the world… and leaning against **him** was a girl with jet back hair, her lips pressed against his in a kiss. Yuugi stomped on the brakes, the car squealing in protest; he ignored it as he took in the sight for a few seconds. 

Oh. That was how the camping trip had been. 

"_Yuugi…_" 

"_Don't_." Yuugi turned the car around, going back the way he had come. He couldn't handle the situation on so little sleep. 

He was going back to bed. 

--

"Hey!" Mokuba protested, pushing the girl away and glancing down the road at the source of the loud squealing he had heard just a second before; he could have recognized Yuugi's car from a mile away. "Senko, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" 

She giggled. "I'm kissing you, silly. Don't you like it?" 

Mokuba watched in horror as the car did a sickening u-turn and sped away. God damn it… "No," he told her vehemently. "I have a boyfriend! I thought you knew that!" 

"I figured I could change your mind," she said seductively, leaning closer to Mokuba again. Mokuba shoved her back. 

"You can't change that!" he shouted. He had to remind himself that it wasn't right to hit girls, it wasn't right to hit girls, men had no right to hit girls… "I've got to go." He went to the gate, pressing the button on the intercom. "Hey, send the driver out, I need to go see Yuugi." 

"Yes sir," came the quick answer over the speaker. Mokuba went back to the sidewalk, alternately looking down the street and towards the manor. A part of him hoped that Yuugi would come back... and the other part of him was very irritated that the driver wasn't instantaneous. Mokuba finally turned back to Senko. "You. Go somewhere. Away from me." He wished he could sound as threatening as Seto did… 

"Mokuba, don't be mad. What does your boyfriend have that I don't?" 

"A dick to start with," Mokuba retorted. He looked back through the gates again. Why did it seem to be taking so long? "And integrity: he'd never do something like that. And he's got my love. Isn't that enough?" He saw the car coming; the gate was finally starting to open. Mokuba was nearly bouncing with nervousness; Yuugi wouldn't be mad, not once he knew what happened… right? 

"Oh, come on, Mokuba," she said impatiently. "Look, everyone knows that being gay is all… you know, just something people do. I have a cousin who was gay, and now he's married with three kids. You just need a push in the right direction." 

Mokuba stared at her. "Oh, a push in the 'right' direction? Who are you to define right?" 

"It's simple: straight. Come on, Mokuba, your 'boyfriend' already sped off; he must not care THAT much. We can go inside, have some fun…" Leaning close she whispered, "I've been told I can do some unbelievable things with my mouth." 

He pushed her back and glared at her. "Senko," he said seriously, "I can probably give head better than you can. Here, lets get together another day, buy a 24-pack of popsicles and I'll show you how it's done." The car was almost within arms reach… 

"You're an asshole, Mokuba Kaiba," Senko spat as Mokuba ran to the car door, opening it before the car completely stopped; the driver was protesting. "Fucking idiot!" Mokuba glared at her and flipped her off before jumping into the car, slamming the door behind him. 

"Mister Motou's house, right?" the driver asked; he sounded slightly frazzled. Mokuba figured he must have really rattled him by jumping into the car like that. 

"Yes," Mokuba answered absently. Now that he didn't have Senko to contend with, he was lost in thought. What had Yuugi thought when he saw her kissing him like that? It wasn't his fault! Yuugi couldn't be angry. Mokuba fidgeted in his seat. Why did the drive seem to be taking so long? 

The second the car was stopped Mokuba was out the door, running up the stairs and fumbling to find his wallet for his key. He found the key, but it turned out that the door was unlocked. He entered to find Honda sitting on the floor, looking dazed. 

"Is Yuugi here?" Mokuba asked softly. 

"Yea," Honda answered groggily. "He came in stomping around, slamming doors. What happened?" 

Mokuba paled. That wasn't good. He didn't bother answering Honda's question; he went straight to Yuugi's bedroom door. All the things Seto had taught him about confidence and confrontation slipped out of his mind as he timidly knocked on the door. "Yuugi," he called softly. 

"What?" Yuugi's voice was coarse, strained. It sent a chill up Mokuba's spine; he rarely ever heard Yuugi like that, and it had never been because of him before. He opened the door and stood in the doorway, wary to enter the room. Yuugi was sitting on the bed, his back to the entry. 

"Yuugi…" Mokuba felt silly; there he was, repeating himself, intimidated, afraid… He didn't know what to say; anything he could think of sounded like a cliché. "She cornered me." That was worse. It sounded like an excuse. 

"Are you going to tell me she 'cornered' you for the entire trip?" 

"No! She didn't do anything like that until you drove up. I was waiting for you, and she offered to keep me company." Mokuba's voice was impossibly small; he felt like was thirteen again… and he didn't like it. 

Yuugi was silent, and Mokuba desperately wanted to go hug him, to cuddle with him, to convince him that everything was all right, everything was fine… "And did you like it?" 

Mokuba hadn't expected that, but his answer was immediate none-the-less. "No. Yuugi, she's always been one of my best friends, and she's never been like that. Besides, I'm as queer as they come. Why would I have even a remote interest in her?" 

Yuugi sounded distinctly bitter as he answered, "Maybe you went bi-curious on the trip; you never did give girls a chance." 

"What?" Did Yuugi honestly believe what he was saying? Mokuba scowled. Apparently, Yuugi was sure that Mokuba had gone willingly into that kiss, that much was obvious. It was enough to make his blood boil. Four years, and Yuugi thought he was going to throw it away for someone else! "Nothing is going to change your mind, is it?" Mokuba said, trying his best to sound calm and aloof, trying to act like his brother. He didn't succeed. His anger - his hurt - was evident. 

"Nothing can change what I saw," Yuugi answered. 

"Fine," Mokuba retorted sharply. "Fuck you!" He turned around and stormed out the apartment, tears burning his eyes the whole way. 

--

Seto had never seen Mokuba so dedicated to work. The past three days the teen went to bed early, woke up on time, and didn't waste a single second during the day. Seto would have been proud of Mokuba's new work ethic if it weren't for the fact that it was completely out of character. Mokuba didn't talk much, and when he got home from work, he disappeared into his room. When Seto passed by the door he could hear Mokuba either snoring or blaring music. Also, Mokuba hadn't gone to see Yuugi or any of his friends in those three days. That last fact alone was enough to have Seto concerned. 

Seto's cell phone rang, and he was quick to answer it. "Kaiba," he said briskly. 

There was a moment of silence before, "Kaiba, this is Jounouchi." 

Seto made a face. What a waste of his time. And when had Jounouchi gotten his cell phone number? "What?" he snapped; he was tempted to hang up the phone. 

"Look, I need your help." Jounouchi sounded as though it killed him to say those words, and Seto was intrigued; anything that made Jounouchi uncomfortable had to be at least moderately interesting. "Yuugi and Mokuba fought, and they're not speaking. I need you to talk to Mokuba, get his side of the story." 

"What?" Well, that would explain Mokuba's sudden change in demeanor. Almost dumbly he added, "Yuugi and Mokuba never fight." 

"No shit," Jounouchi responded. "Yuugi's been moping around between work and home. He's miserable. I've talked to him some, but I can't convince him to call Mokuba." 

"Did he say what they fought about?" 

"Nah. He said something about a girl, but that's all. I was… I was thinking we could help them patch this up." 

"I'll talk to Mokuba." Seto hesitated before adding a brusque, "Thanks." He hung up his cell phone and dropped it into his pocket. He walked to Mokuba's room, giving the door a quick rap before entering. Mokuba was curled up in bed, so buried in his blankets that only his hair was visible. Seto could tell by his breathing that he wasn't asleep, and he sat on the bed next to the mock-snoozing teen, leaning back against the headboard. 

"It's too early to be asleep, so don't insult my intelligence by pretending." 

Mokuba sighed. "What is it?" Seto detected a note of melancholy in Mokuba's voice. He might have caught it earlier if he had heard Mokuba talk more. 

"What happened with you and Yuugi?" 

Mokuba slowly sat up in bed, the blankets pooled around his waist. "How do you know Yuugi and I fought?" 

"A little bird told me." No way was Seto going to tell Mokuba that he had a civil conversation with Jounouchi. He'd never hear the end of it. "What happened?" 

"Senko kissed me." 

Seto didn't move, waiting for Mokuba to continue. When he didn't elaborate, Seto prompted, "And?" 

"Yuugi thinks that I was into it, and that the whole camping trip was some sort of orgy! He thinks I would willingly kiss someone else even though I have him!" Mokuba bowed his head and his shoulders sagged in defeat. "Why can't he believe I wouldn't do that?" 

Seto scooted closer to Mokuba, wrapping an arm around his brother's shoulders. "Go tell him that." 

"But what if he doesn't believe me?" Mokuba asked, his voice shaking with unshed tears. "He wouldn't listened to me when I tried to tell him before. What if he hates me now?" 

"He doesn't," Seto assured him. "Besides, if he does, he'll have me to contend with for making you sad." 

"Don't say that. I don't want him intimidated into caring." Mokuba's voice was so serious that it made Seto pause. 

"I was only kidding. Come on, get up and get dressed. I'll drive." 

Mokuba looked at Seto, his eyes brimming with emotion. "Really?" 

"Of course." Mokuba hugged Seto before getting out of bed, going to his dresser. Seto stood. "I'll be waiting out front with the car." 

Seto did just that. He parked the car out where Mokuba would see it and waited patiently. If Mokuba took an hour getting ready, so be it. He had done too much to see that those two stayed together, and he wasn't going to see them broken up by a misunderstanding. Partially to keep himself busy and partially to make sure his plan would work, he picked up his cell and called Jounouchi. 

"Yea?" the boy answered. Seto bit his tongue, saving the comments on his distinct lack of manners for another time. 

"Yuugi is there, right?" 

"Yea." 

"Good. I'm bringing Mokuba over." Seto hung up as Mokuba got into the passenger side, his eyes cast down, looking at his knees. Seto let it slide, letting Mokuba compose his thoughts in peace. The drive was silent, almost uncomfortably so; Seto wanted to say something that would help put Mokuba at ease, but he knew next to nothing about relationships. He couldn't give advice even if someone else wrote it for him. Seto didn't speak until he had parked the car near the apartment building where Yuugi lived. 

"Ready?" 

"No," Mokuba said and got out of the car, quickly entering the building. Seto followed, a few paces behind. When Mokuba knocked on the apartment door Jounouchi answered so quickly that Seto was sure he had been waiting by it. Before Mokuba could speak Jounouchi pulled him into the apartment and stepped into the hall in one fluid movement, closing the door behind him. Seto stared in confusion. 

"Gives them the entire apartment to raise hell in, if they have to… and if I'm here, no one can just leave." Jounouchi sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. Seto found himself wondering how long it was going to take for Yuugi and Mokuba to make up. He didn't want to spend his entire afternoon in the dim hallway with someone he could barely stand. "Look," Jounouchi said abruptly, catching Seto by surprise (though he didn't show it), "you didn't have to thank me earlier." 

"Fine. Next time I won't." 

Jounouchi glared, his face flushing just slightly. "I mean that it's not like I went out of my way or something. I'd gladly go through hell for Yuugi and Mokuba. They're like brothers." 

It was strange to hear Jounouchi proclaim feelings of kinship for his younger brother. In Seto's own twisted sense of humor he wanted to ask if that made him and Jounouchi brothers, if Jounouchi would go through such lengths for him. Seto mentally shook himself. What the hell was he thinking? 

"Well calling me was the smartest thing you've ever done," Seto replied smoothly, his tone condescending. "If left to your own devices you surely would have made the situation worse." 

Jounouchi shook his head and grumbled, "Man, I try to be nice and you're an asshole. There's just no winning with you." 

Seto ignored the statement and stared at the door, wondering what was going on behind it. 

--

"Please don't say you hate me," Mokuba blurted all at once, watching Yuugi carefully. Yuugi was sitting on the couch, looking down at the book he held in his hands. 

"What?" 

"I couldn't stand it if you hated me," Mokuba continued. 

Yuugi looked up from his book. "I don't hate you, Mokuba." 

"Then why are you ignoring me like this?" Mokuba shouted; he wasn't nearly as stoic as his brother. He stood in front of Yuugi, plucking the book up and throwing it on the floor. Definitely not like his brother when it came to emotions. "Why can't you believe me when I tell you that it was nothing?" 

Yuugi stared up at him, and he was a picture of mixed emotions; Yuugi could never hide his emotions. Mokuba could see hurt, anger, confusion… "Because it seems like everyone wants you; it seems natural that you should want to try a bit of everyone. That's how you are with most things; you dive right in and give it a shot." 

Mokuba stared. He impulsively sat on Yuugi's lap. It may not have been a very good stance in an argument, but it had always made Mokuba feel secure. He despaired inwardly when Yuugi sat stiffly, seeming indifferent to Mokuba's closeness. Still, he had to make his point. "Yuugi, what would I want with a 'bit of everyone'?" He kissed Yuugi softly - almost chastely - and let his forehead rest against Yuugi's, eyes falling closed. "I love you, Yuugi, you know that." Against his will, tears escaped him, trickling slowly down his cheeks. He was surprised to feel Yuugi brush one away, and he opened his eyes, so close to Yuugi's. He noticed that one crystalline tear had fallen and landed on Yuugi's face. He was going to open his mouth, to pose another argument when Yuugi's arms wrapped around him, cradling him. Mokuba released the breath he didn't even realize he was holding and curled against Yuugi, letting his head rest on his shoulder as he usually did. It was a common pose for the two. 

"I love you too," Yuugi said softly. "And I hate when people so much as look at you. Seeing her plastered against you like that was the worst." 

"Well, they can look all they want, but I'm still going home with you." Mokuba saw Yuugi smile, and he was going to add to that when a sudden pain sprung from his belly, and he let out a loud yelp of pain. Yuugi had reached up to brush Mokuba's belly, but the action that would usually reduce Mokuba to cooing instead caused pain. 

"What's this?" Yuugi asked, pulling Mokuba's tee shirt up to reveal Mokuba's belly, and the brand new piercing that adorned his bellybutton. "When did you do this?" he asked in shock. 

"Last weekend," Mokuba admitted, letting out a nervous laugh. 

"On the camping trip?" Yuugi seemed at a loss for words before he practically pleaded, "Please don't tell me that you let one of your friends do this…" 

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "I barely trust my friends to make a sandwich, let alone shove a needle through my skin. I had it done by a professional." 

"Good… but why?" 

Mokuba shrugged. "Something to try. I think it'll be cool once it heals." He wrapped his arms around Yuugi's neck, intending to pull him down into a kiss… and then the moment was interrupted by Jounouchi yelling in the hallway. 

"What is he shouting about?" Yuugi wondered aloud, staring at the door as though it would provide him answers. Mokuba snickered. 

"Seto is out there with him. I'd better go break them up." Mokuba stood up and went to the door, yanking it open dramatically. He did his best to glare at his brother and Jounouchi. "I hope you know you two are interrupting a sentimental moment in here." 

Jounouchi's expression immediately changed from anger to joy. "Great! I'm going to my room." He threw one more glare in Seto's direction before brushing past Mokuba and entering the apartment. Mokuba smiled at Seto. 

"Thanks," he said. 

"It was nothing. Don't be home late." Seto turned, walking towards the stairs that would lead him out of the apartment building. Mokuba shook his head and blew a kiss towards his brother's back before closing the door and going back to Yuugi. 

**

- end part iii -

**

* * *

**- author thoughts… -**  
Okay, chick-bashing is bad, I think there is WAY too much of it in yaoi. Given that, this part isn't designed to chick-bash; ashes *hearts* the girlies just as much as the boys ^_~. All the same, the fact stands that every woman in the world isn't great, wonderful, understanding. We can all be just as underhanded, sneaky, and mean as men. I know. I'm one of them. ^^ 

Besides, by the time this story is over, we should all be praising Senko and her stubborn move on Mokuba; even though this is the first and last time you see her, in my opinion she's the most pivotal character in the story. She starts a whole chain of events… you'll see. ^^ And if you don't, it'll be pointed out to you. Either way, I only mean to say that I hope I handled that whole scene with Senko in it well. I don't want it to come off as typical female bashing, because that's not at all what it's supposed to be. After all, why would I make up a character just to bash her? Very odd, that. 

Wow! This part is super!long. I guess it makes up for the super!short parts… *shrug* 

In other news *gags on fluff*. No, I'm kidding, I *heart*ed the fluff. *snicker* I'm not sure why I felt the compulsive urge to create teenager!Mokuba with a pierced bellybutton… but it seemed like fun a the time, so I figured "why the hell not?" Yea, this was another reason I did the sequel: to see Yuugi and Mokuba fight, then make up. It was stuck in my head. That and the image of Mokuba on Yuugi's lap, head bowed. *shrug* Strange mental images I tend to suffer from… 

Hehe… Hanachan pointed out that at one point (when Mokuba throws Yuugi's book on the floor) that his comment about not being like his brother in emotion wasn't entirely true. Anyone remember the sandwich-throwing tactics? ^_^ 


	4. Costumes

**_Ashes does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!. Yu-Gi-Oh! & all it's characters/settings belong to Kazuki Takahashi._**

* * *

**Part IV  
(Costumes)**

Seto liked when time passed without melodrama; that meant he could focus more on the things he needed to get done and less on everyone else's problems (including his own). And that was exactly how the months between July and October passed: uneventful. Mokuba started his final year in high school, worked, saw Yuugi, and babbled about how happy he would be when he could finally change his bellybutton ring. Life was calm until around mid-October, when Otogi got the idea to throw a Halloween party, fashioning it with costumes in the manner of the stateside celebration. Seto assumed it was just an excuse to throw another party, but apparently it was the most exciting thing Mokuba had going for him, because it was all Seto heard about for nearly three weeks. The most disturbing thing he'd had the misfortune of hearing was what his brother planned to dress-up as. 

Mokuba intended to go as a Domino High schoolgirl. 

Seto had tried his damnedest to convince Mokuba that it was a bad idea, but Mokuba was determined. After about three days, Seto was resigned to the fact that his brother actually **wanted** to wear a skirt and he actually found it amusing… once he got past the abject horror of the announcement. 

It was a week before the 31st when Mokuba came bounding into Seto's home office, grinning so wide that Seto was sure his face was going to split in half. "Seto!" he cried happily, sitting on the corner of Seto's desk. "Guess what?" 

Seto teased, "You've decided to preserve the honor of the Kaiba family and not go out in public wearing a skirt?" 

"Better. Jou and I were betting on the outcome of a game, and he lost!" 

Seto scoffed, "As though losing is something new to him. What was the wager?" 

"Halloween costumes. I'm going to make him dress up like a black lab." 

Seto nearly spit out his coffee onto his monitor when he heard those words. "Black lab as in the dog black lab?" Mokuba nodded enthusiastically, and Seto laughed. "That's terrific. I want pictures." 

Mokuba grinned. "I thought blackmail was bad, the 'scourge of honest business'?" 

Seto shrugged. "We can make an exception for Jounouchi." He looked at Mokuba skeptically. "That's unusual; you usually yell at me for calling him a mutt. Why the sudden change of heart?" 

"No change of heart," Mokuba said. "He didn't have a costume, and I placed the bet. He took it knowing full and well what the outcome would be if he lost." 

"If he had won, would you still be going as a schoolgirl?" 

"No." 

Seto shook his head. "A tough decision… my little brother NOT wearing a skirt, or Jounouchi dressed up like the dog he is…" 

Mokuba swatted at his brother half-heartedly, catching Seto behind the head. "Shut up. You still shouldn't call Jou a dog." With a smile he added, "And I'm gonna be hot, so stop bitching." 

"If you say so." Seto was amused by Mokuba's sense of his own beauty, and enjoyed teasing his brother; they didn't seem to have enough of these candid moments where they just had fun. Fun had never been one of Seto's strong suits. 

"Oh, admit it!" Mokuba chided jokingly. "If you weren't my brother, you would totally fuck me. I'm just too hot to resist." 

Seto stiffened in his seat and glared. That was one way to kill a good mood. If only Mokuba had known that at one point... "How many times have I yelled at you for your language?" 

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Isn't it a little late in my life for that? Besides, you're changing the subject." 

Seto's glare didn't change. "I AM your brother, so the question is irrelevant. Now, don't you have somewhere to be? I need to work." 

"Aw, you're no fun," Mokuba pouted. 

"What happened to my cute little brother who blushed and covered his ears when I tried to give him the talk about the birds and the bees?" Seto smiled at the memory. Mokuba had been fourteen, and when Seto had given him "the talk," he had turned beet red and put a pillow over his head, saying he didn't need to hear any talk, that he could figure it out as he went along. What Mokuba didn't realize at the time was that Seto was no more eager to give that speech than Mokuba was to hear it. How strange it had felt that he would ever be in that situation… 

"He was a façade. He was actually just trying to hide the fact that he lost his innocence when he got his fir-" 

"What?" Seto demanded, feigning shock and disapproval very well; in another life, he might have made a marvelous actor. 

Mokuba flushed. "What?" he said innocently. 

"Any sentence that includes the words 'lost his innocence' and makes allusions to ages before eighteen..." Seto was actually just toying with Mokuba. He already knew that Mokuba was having sex... he just never let Mokuba know that. It was fun to watch Mokuba get flustered. 

"That's not EXACTLY what I meant! Besides, you were, what, fifteen, sixteen when you and Ya-" Mokuba's eyes widened and he covered his mouth, a trait he had retained from his childhood. The whole atmosphere seemed to change. Seto stared at his computer, pretending not to have heard what Mokuba was going to say. Any mirth he may have been feeling seemed to be sucked from him in that instant. Mokuba cleared his throat. "Anyway, I hadn't had sex before then, I just... wasn't entirely dormant, either." 

"You just used past tense. Are you telling me that you are having sex now? My little brother really is a whore," Seto said, trying his best to cheer himself up, to pretend Mokuba hadn't nearly mentioned his ex-lover. 

"Hey! That's not right. I've only had one boyfriend, and I've kept him for four years now. That's far from whore in my book, Seto." 

Seto smiled at his brother, inwardly amused that Mokuba had completely ignored the question about his sexual activity. "Good. I'm glad. Now I have to work." 

Mokuba returned the smile. "Okay, big brother." It was Seto's turn to blush. Mokuba had rarely called him "big brother" after he turned fifteen. He watched Mokuba leave, smiling after his little brother. 

It was a shame he couldn't focus on work. There was Yami in his mind's eye, holding him. He sighed. He would probably never love like that again, nor would he be loved quite the same way. 

Ugh. How ridiculous; he was acting like a woman again. It couldn't be that hard to cheer up and get on with work. Hey, the thought of Jounouchi dressed up a dog - a testament to what he was - was a little uplifting. 

He always did like to see the blond humiliated. 

--

October 31st was hectic for the very moment Mokuba walked into the dining room for breakfast. Usually he looked like a zombie, still dressed in pajamas with his hair askew, not uttering a coherent sentence until he had finished about half a cup of coffee. That was one thing that Seto and Mokuba did together every morning: they drank their coffee to get going. That particular morning though, he was yammering on and on about how his outfit would look, and said something about "dirty." Seto was still half-asleep and therefore missed half of what Mokuba said. It wasn't until he was standing to go take a shower that he caught what Mokuba said too clearly for his own comfort. 

"You should come tonight, Seto," Mokuba advised. "I could find you a date." 

Seto stopped in his tracks. He didn't want to date. Dating denoted moving on. Seto may have changed his bed, his couch, and his rivalries… but that didn't mean he was willing to move on. Moving on was the final step in acknowledging that it was all over. "I don't date, Mokuba." 

Mokuba took a sip of his second cup of coffee. Seto was almost scared as we watched Mokuba down that liquid caffeine. "You should. You've got plenty going for you." 

"Oh I do?" Seto asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Mokuba had a devious twinkle in his eyes. "Yea! You're young, good-looking, you have manners, money … and a great ass." 

Seto answered, "Well, I've got better things to do than deal with the formalities and bullshit that comes with dating… and don't look my ass. You're depraved." 

Mokuba was smirking. "You can't ask a boy not to notice… But come on! It'll be fun: music, food, alcohol, and costumes." 

"All the things I don't care for." Seto then added seriously, "And if I find out you've been drinking…" 

"I know, I know," Mokuba responded dutifully. "But you could. Hell, you could even wear a costume, hook up with some random stranger, and have yourself a good night." 

"I don't like drinking or anonymous sex, so you're failing to arouse my interest." 

"Anonymous sex is better than a bottle of lotion and porn. You're as bad as Jou." 

Seto's eyes widened in horror. "What is THAT supposed to mean?" 

"I'm a big boy, Seto, I know what men sometimes have to do to relieve their sexual urges," Mokuba said, pitching his voice, making the words "sexual urges" sound scandalous. Seto was, to say the least, mortified. 

"That was disturbing. I don't even want to know HOW you know about that idiot's … porn habits." The thought of Jounouchi and porn was enough to make Seto shudder… with horror, he was sure. "I'm going to go take a shower, and then I'm going to go do something productive. And I'm not going to the party. Do I make myself clear?" 

Mokuba sighed with resignation, but he didn't look the least bit disheartened. "Perfectly clear." 

--

4 PM was marked by Mokuba's usual music blaring from the door, and even though Seto was completely disinterested in the party itself, he had to admit that he wanted to see how Mokuba turned out once he was all dolled up. So at 4:30 he gave up on his work and went to the open bathroom door, watching Mokuba trying to brush out his unruly tresses out. 

"Having fun?" Seto asked, not masking his amusement. 

Mokuba answered without looking away from his reflection the mirror. "Actually I am." 

Seto looked at the bathroom counter; there was a curling iron plugged in and there were various tubes and canisters of make-up and other feminine products that Seto couldn't have identified if his life depended on it. He wondered where the hell it had all come from, considering he had never seen any of it before "Do you know how to use all that?" 

"Not a clue. Anzu should be here any minute to help me out. She's the one letting me borrow her old school uniform." 

"Remind me to run her over first chance I get." 

"Seto!" 

Seto responded, "I was kidding." 

"Hey!" the distinctly feminine voice of Anzu rang through the hall. 

"Speak of the devil," Seto murmured. He motioned for her to walk towards them, and she did so. 

"The guy are the door told me to come here," she explained, peeking in the door to address Mokuba. She turned to Seto. "Hello, Kaiba," she said politely, and Seto was amused by the formality because he knew she didn't like him. She stood there, looking ridiculously nervous with a duffle bag hanging down in front of her. "So, are you coming to the party tonight?" 

"He's not," Mokuba answered before Seto could speak, "but I keep telling him that he should." 

"What a shame." The comment wasn't entirely sincere. Seto didn't bother with idle talk and instead watched Mokuba get increasingly frustrated as he tried to get his hair back into a ponytail. Finally, he pouted, "Anzu, this is impossible." 

"No it's not." Anzu moved past Seto, dropping her bag onto the bathroom floor and going to stand behind Mokuba, taking the brush from him. Seto was amazed as she managed to get his hair back into a high ponytail - with the aid of what had to be every hair-manipulation product on earth - and leaving a few strands loose to frame his face. "See? If the curling iron is ready, we can curl these now," she said, gesturing to one of the locks that brushed along Mokuba's temples. 

The process after that was much more fascinating than the hair change. Mokuba had jumped up on the counter so Anzu wouldn't have to lean down, and she applied make-up, removed make-up, experimented with different colors and shades. It was enough to make Seto dizzy. The process seemed to take forever, but once Anzu was done, even Seto had to admit that she did well. Mokuba looked practically flawless… and he made a pretty girl, much to Seto's discomfort. 

"Well, what do you think?" Anzu asked nervously. Mokuba turned and looked in the mirror, and then turned to Seto with a triumphant grin. 

"I told you I'd be hot." 

Seto nodded, showing his defeat. "You win." 

Anzu asked, "Well, are you ready for the outfit, then?" 

"Oh! Not yet. I left my bra and panties in my room." 

"Your **what**?" Seto asked. He hadn't expected Mokuba to take it to THAT extreme… 

Mokuba was giggling, already acting more like the girl he was transforming into. Seto had to remind himself that it was only for one night, less than twenty-four hours… For a few seconds that was his mantra. "Well, if I'm going to be wearing that short skirt, I'm going to have to dress properly… and look at Anzu! If I didn't have some sort of 'breasts', I'd look ridiculous." 

Seto cringed, pointedly NOT looking at Anzu's chest. "God, this isn't going to become a habit, is it?" 

"Hell no. If I had to do to this much work just to look good everyday, I'd commit suicide. Besides, I've tried on the panties already, and they're uncomfortable… it's beyond words." 

Anzu retorted triumphantly, "Just goes to prove that women really ARE tougher than men." 

"Yea," Mokuba conceded, walking out of the bathroom slowly. "It's a shame you're all built with all the wrong parts." With that, he took off for his room, leaving Anzu blushing. She looked at Seto. 

"Are you angry about this?" she asked. 

"No; it's amusing… so long as it's only one night." 

Anzu smiled, and Seto wondered exactly how genuine it was. He didn't bother to try and analyze her or her smiles. "He's really excited about it," Anzu was telling him. "Something about a comment Yami made…" 

Seto tuned her out, swallowing the lump in his throat. He couldn't hold it against her for mentioning Yami; she didn't know. Only he, Mokuba, and Yuugi knew about that short tryst four years ago. "Oh," he answered noncommittally. Luckily for him, Mokuba came rushing back at that moment, handing Seto a small plastic packet on his way into the bathroom. Seto examined it carefully. It was a bellybutton ring that actually had a ring shape to it, as opposed to the one that Mokuba had kept in since he had gotten the piercing (which closely resembled a small barbell). Seto was still amazed that he had let Mokuba keep the piercing. 

"You can change it now?" Seto asked. 

"Yea." Mokuba reached out, motioning for Seto to give it back; Seto tossed it to him, and Mokuba caught it. "Now everyone leave so I can change!" Mokuba ushered Anzu into the hallway and closed the door, locking it behind him. Seto and Anzu waited without speaking, the silence punctuated by a string of profanities and yelps coming from behind the bathroom door. After nearly ten minutes, Mokuba opened the door and his transformation was complete. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, one leg bent, his toe resting on the floor; he was acting coy. White stockings covered his calves, nearly reaching his knees. The blue pleated skirt smoothed down immaculately over his thighs. A white button-down shirt was hidden beneath the pink jacket, and the blue bow was fastened at Mokuba's neck, slightly crooked. Anzu moved forward, straightening it a bit before standing back. "Well?" Mokuba asked. 

Anzu exclaimed happily, "You look great! You even shaved your legs." 

"Yea, but only because that wax that Mai gave me was… ouch. Women are masochistic." 

"Wimp," Anzu teased. Then she continued, "You did a good job. Your boobs even match!" 

"Yea, I practiced," Mokuba admitted. Before Seto could comment on that Mokuba added, "And look what I can do now!" He went into the bathroom and knocked a tube of lipstick to the floor, making show of bending over and picking up. Seto didn't look at his brother's ass. "Cool, huh?" 

"You would make such a great slut," Seto commented. Anzu looked mortified at the statement, but Mokuba just smiled. 

"Yea, 'would' being the operative word there. Oh, Anzu, have you seen Jou yet today?" 

Anzu nodded. "He was waiting for the glue on his tail to dry." 

Seto couldn't resist a snicker, even in present company. He generally tried not to show too much emotion around Yuugi and his friends. "Mokuba, don't forget your camera." 

"Done. Its in my purse." 

**- end part iv -**

* * *

**- author thoughts… -**  
What, Ashes had a GOOD excuse to stare at Anzu's boobs? *ahem* I was doing research on the schoolgirl outfits… ^_^ [My sister thinks that my preoccupation with Anzu's boobs is odd. Then she amends that we're all odd.] 

Hmm, Mokuba is awfully... uhm, fruity? Hehe. I think he was fun to write, but sometimes I wonder if his character is a little over the top. Then again, I guess the kid could turn out a little odd, and he's got it all where it counts, so... 

Come to look at it, this part is pretty long too… Hmm, very, very curious… 


	5. Newly Bound Curiousity

**_Ashes does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!. *sigh* Don't you think you'd know if I did?_ ^_~**

* * *

_This part has been edited for FF.net. Full part can be found at AdultFanFiction.net, MediaMiner.org, or my site._

* * *

**Part V  
(Newly Bound Curiosity)**

"_Right there._" 

"_Where?_" Yuugi demanded. Supposedly Anzu and Mokuba had arrived five minutes ago, and while he had found Anzu, he was still unable to locate Mokuba. 

"_How can you miss him? Right there!_" Yami was insistent. "_And he looks great._" 

"_Thanks for the commentary, but unless you can point, 'right there' doesn't mean much._" 

Yami somehow managed to jab him mentally, and Yuugi grinned; he liked getting Yami riled up. "_See the skirt bent over Otogi's CDs?_" 

"_Yea._" 

"_That's him._" 

Yuugi stared in awe, stepping a bit to his left to see the person in profile. Yami was right: that was Mokuba. He grinned and went over, sneaking up on the boy and gently swatting his rear end. Mokuba bolted upright, and he looked upset about someone touching his ass until he noticed it was Yuugi. He grinned and hugged Yuugi, arms wrapped around his neck. 

"Terrific," Yuugi said, leaning down and catching Mokuba's lips in a quick kiss. He added in a quieter tone, "You are so getting some tonight." 

"Glad to hear it. So, does it live up to that dream you once had?" Mokuba teased. 

"_Ha! I told you he still remembers_," Yami commented victoriously. Yuugi blushed. 

"I think I like this better." 

"Good." Mokuba smiled as Otogi approached them, waving. 

"Hi guys," Otogi said. "I didn't see you get here, Mokuba." 

"Just got here a few minutes ago. Otogi, have I ever told you that your CDs rock?" 

Otogi laughed. "At least once a month. Any suggestions?" 

"Dance. These people need to liven up some," Mokuba said, grinning. Otogi nodded and grabbed the CDs from the table, flipping through them as though he knew exactly what he was looking for. Mokuba smiled with approval as Otogi put in a CD and steady beat filled the room. Almost immediately people started moving towards the center to dance. 

"Let's go dance," Mokuba said, pulling Yuugi towards the crowd; Yuugi was powerless to do anything but follow. 

--

Seto had been looking forward to a quiet night. Friday nights were usually too loud around when Mokuba had friends over, so Seto had given him permission to stay the night with Yuugi. Unfortunately for him, he noticed that Mokuba had left his purse on the kitchen counter. He looked inside, examining the contents: keys, Mokuba's wallet, a camera… and handcuffs? Seto ignored those and looked wistfully at the camera. Goddamn, he really did want Mokuba to get those pictures… 

It would only take half an hour, if even that. He heaved a sigh and went to get his car keys. 

When he arrived he was surprised to see that the party was more than the usual get-together of six or seven people. There had to be at least two or three dozen people crammed into the building Otogi had gotten for his party. Half of those people were cramped into the middle of the room, dancing to music that was blaring from a stereo in the corner. Seto concealed himself in the shadows of a corner, trying to find Mokuba among the crowd without being seen. 

He saw Jounouchi first. He looked less like a dog than Seto had hoped. Instead of some awkward dog suit that Seto had been visualizing, Jounouchi was wearing a few choice props to give the illusion of being a dog. Black jeans rode low on his hips, presumably so that the belt the tail was attached to would be low enough to make the tail appear in the right place. He wore a black turtleneck, with long sleeves covering black gloves. Attached to his head were dog-ears, half-bent like those of a curious and playful puppy. There was a collar fastened around his neck, and a leash hung from the collar, stopping just short of Jounouchi's knees. A dog nose was crudely painted over his nose, and his feet were bare. 

It may not have been as dog-like as Seto had imagined… but it was hot. It wasn't just the outfit, even though the way it seemed to cling to Jounouchi certainly added to its sex appeal. Seto's breath hitched as he watched Jounouchi dance… Who would have guessed that Jounouchi could dance? He was emanating sex; Seto could practically see it from where he was standing. Even though he was primarily dancing (rather erotically) with Honda, everyone around them seemed to be gravitating towards them, dancing in time with them. Seto was enthralled by the look of concentration on the blond's face as he moved, seeming to flow with the music. Seto tried to ignore an uncomfortable tension between his legs as he watched. 

He found himself growling reflexively as he saw a girl near Jounouchi grab onto his leash, yanking him close. She said something, and Jounouchi grinned at her, leaning down as though to kiss her… He must have lost his center of balance, because he tumbled over. Honda tried to catch him and only ended up on the floor with his friend, both laughing as they sat there. 

Seto realized that Jounouchi was drunk. He made a face. What a fucking buffoon. To think that for a moment he had been turned on by that idiot… 

"Kaiba!" Anzu called from his left. He looked urgently to her and held his finger to his lips, motioning for her to shut up and come to him. She complied, a look of curiosity on her face. "I thought you weren't going to show up," she said. She was dressed up like some sort of angel. 

"I'm not," he said stiffly, holding Mokuba's purse out to her. "Mokuba forgot this." 

"Oh! Thanks; I'm sure he'll appreciate you bringing it. Do you like Jou's costume?" Was Seto imagining it, or was there a hint of teasing in her voice? 

Seto scoffed, "A drunken mutt. It suits him." He turned and left, not waiting for her reply. 

He drove around aimlessly for a while. The display bothered him. As a matter of fact, that damn mutt seemed to be bothering him a lot lately, ever since that phone call. 

Seto would admit to himself - and no other living soul - that there was something about Jounouchi professing some brotherly affection for Mokuba that made him feel a little less malicious towards the blond. Only a little. Insignificantly little. 

And… damn, where had the mutt learned how to dance? He had **never** seen Jounouchi do anything that even resembled grace. And on top of dancing, he had been dancing with Honda… What did that mean? Seto had heard stories from Mokuba about Jounouchi's random girlfriends… 

But the most important question was why the hell did he care? 

Seto growled to himself, shifting in his seat and turning his car around to head home. He wanted his quiet night back, and he wasn't going to let some irrational curiosities about a near-stranger interrupt it. 

**- end part v -**

* * *

**- author thought… -**  
First, actual important notes. This is where the focus of the story shifts and we stop paying so much attention to YuugixMokuba. Actually, it seems sort of disjointed to suddenly change the focus like that, but without all that transpired in these first 5 parts, the second 5 parts would not have happened. ^_^ I think it'll all make sense by the end… I hope… 

One thing I regret: a couple of people commented on how the Seto & Yami breakup would affect Yuugi & Mokuba… and in my dumbness, when I was plotting/writing the story (which was before I posted "Third Grade Logic"), I didn't think of that. By the time I actually realized, "That's a really good point!", the first 4 parts of the story had already been posted, and it would have been… well, next to impossible to go in, remove them, rewrite them, and still leave the last half of the story intact (and I **really** like the last third of the story). But I really wish I had thought of that way back when, as it really is a good point. I guess part of my excuse is that this is 4 years later, and by now any damage that might have been caused would likely have dissipated… But in the end, I just never caught it. 10 points to anyone who did! 

On a lighter note, sucks to be a FF.net-er; you miss an entire half of the part. Literally, 2 pages are lost in the edit… true, its all YuugixMokuba smut, but that's actually quite fun! ...doesn't do much of anything for the plot other than make it clear that Jou is drunk, and that was already noted… 

I had not the damnedest clue what to dress Yuugi up as. So I sort of covertly ignored mentioning it altogether. I suck. (though it could have been funny if he dressed up as Yami, hehe) As for Jou's costume… well, I'm not a horribly big fan of puppy-fied Jou, but the very first SetoxJou story I read (god, forever ago, man) was along those lines (the leather! the leather!), and from the beginning writing Yu-Gi-Oh! fan fiction, its always been that dog thing that stuck out at me. So I figured I'd hop on that train just once. ^_^ 

…Anyway, so that was fun. ^^ or at least I thought so. Hey, does everyone see Senko's significance yet? 

And… the title of this Part is really odd. I kind of get it… but it struck me out of nowhere… I guess its pretty bad then the writer isn't even sure what the hell she means. ^_^ 


	6. Homemade Porn

**_ashes. and ownership of yu-gi-oh. are not one._**

* * *

**Part VI  
(Homemade Porn)**

There was an emergency at Kaiba Corp. sometime around 9 AM, and that meant both Seto and Mokuba needed to get to work. It was just Seto's luck that Mokuba had his cell phone turned off; that meant he had to go to the apartment to retrieve his brother. 

After a few minutes of knocking on the door and receiving no answer, Seto tried to open it. It was unlocked. Seto tsk-ed to himself, appalled. When he got inside, he was unhappy but not at all surprised to see the place in disarray: there were dirty plates and empty bottles on the coffee table; laundry thrown over chairs and on the floor; there was some video game console on the floor in front of the TV, which was resting on a large wooden crate that didn't look too sturdy; and was that Jounouchi passed out on the couch, dog-ears askew? Seto rolled his eyes. He seriously doubted it was safe to let his younger brother stay with Yuugi so often. 

He went to the window on the far wall, opening the blinds and letting in the sunlight. 

Jounouchi didn't even flinch. 

Seto frowned. He went over to the couch and shook it. "Rise and shine, mutt," he said icily. 

"Mother fucker," Jounouchi grumbled, not moving. "Do you have any respect for those of us who need sleep?" 

Seto responded, "You weren't sleeping, you were passed out. At least you had the luck not to pass out on your back." 

"Didn't your mom ever teach you that if you don't have anything nice to say, shut yer fuckin' mouth?" 

Seto scoffed, "Some rules only apply to humans." 

"Goddamn, Kaiba, what do you want?" 

"I'm looking for Mokuba. Where is he?" 

"Prob'y in Yuug's room, sleeping like a normal person." Jounouchi nestled his face in his the crook of his arm, hiding it from the sunlight. "Would you close the fucking blinds?" 

"Hmph." Seto walked towards the first door he saw. He had it halfway open when Jounouchi murmured, "That's my room, dipshit. Yuug's is the other one." With that, Jounouchi started snoring. Seto was amazed at how quickly the other man fell asleep. Must have been the hangover. 

Seto knocked on the door. The only response was a muffled groan. "Mokuba Kaiba," he called sternly. 

"Shit," he heard his brother's muted groan. There was silence, then some stumbling movements before the door opened, revealing Mokuba in a nightshirt (or perhaps just a large tee shirt; Seto couldn't tell) and schoolgirl stockings bunched around his ankles. Seto spied the circular red marks around his brother's wrists and resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow. Was THAT why Mokuba had handcuffs in his purse? What a little pervert. "Seto, I just went to sleep an hour ago." 

Seto looked at his watch; it was nearly 9:30 AM. "What were you doing until eight?" 

"We didn't even get home until nearly four." 

Another evasion. Seto would have to let his brother know he knew the truth sometime soon. It would save the seventeen-year-old the trouble of pretending he was abstinent. He glanced into the room; Yuugi was still lying face-down on the bed, face buried in a pillow. The room was in disarray as well, cards and clothes and papers scattered all over the floor. There was even a desk chair tipped over. What had his brother done? Finally, Seto remembered that his brother was still standing, staring and waiting for an explanation for his sudden awakening. 

"Work beckons." 

"Now? I'm supposed to be off today. I'm underage, I shouldn't be working such hours," Mokuba whined. 

Seto smiled wryly. "I was working CEO of Kaiba Corp at fifteen." 

"Spare me," Mokuba groaned, his voice resigned. "Fine, but I need to shower first. Can Kaiba Corp hold off for half an hour?" Seto nodded and Mokuba retreated into the room, closing the door behind him. Seto found his way to the kitchenette, glancing at the sleeping blond on the couch. Jounouchi was snoring softly, but other than that, there didn't seem to be any sign of life from the prone male. Seto probably could have thrown him out a window and he wouldn't have noticed. Seto sat at a small kitchen table, amusing himself with the mental image of Jounouchi falling out a window. He saw Mokuba cross the hall to the bathroom, clothes in hand as he closed the door. Seto was bored, looking around the apartment for something to focus on for half an hour. His eyes were continuously drawn to Jounouchi's half-open bedroom door. What sort of living space did the dog inhabit? Damn it, where had that curiosity come from? Hadn't he decided last night that he was indifferent about everything that had to do with Jounouchi? 

After much indecision he stood, going into the room. Jounouchi was too deep asleep to notice. 

The most glaring oddity in the room was the hammock that spanned nearly an entire wall. Seto was amazed. How did Jounouchi sleep in that? There were blankets and pillows hanging off the meshed bed, and it was complete with a nightstand and lamp within arms' reach. Then Seto noticed the order to the room; while it was apparent that Jounouchi was a packrat, everything was shoved into organized piles or boxes, most of which were under or near the hammock, presumably so that the little space NOT taken up by the bed could be used for something besides storage. One of those boxes drew Seto's attention. It was in the middle of the floor and half-filled with porn. He remembered Mokuba's comment about porn over breakfast the morning before and flushed, his hand hovering just inches from the box. How ridiculous that he was curious about what sort of pornography Jounouchi kept. Despite his own logic, he looked, kneeling down beside the box and riffling through it slowly. It was nothing extraordinary until he reached a homemade tape; the label was written in some strange lettering that Seto couldn't read. He examined it closely, making a mental note of the symbols. Maybe he would recognize them later. He went to place the tape back in the box when a batch of pictures fell from the inside cover, landing on the floor. Seto swore softly and picked them up, and was immediately shocked by what he saw. The top picture - a somewhat crude snapshot taken with an instant camera - showed one of Yuugi's friends, the white-haired one, with fingers gripping slender hips, mouth wrapped around another man's cock. Seto blinked. How old were these pictures? If memory served, the young male - Ryou, Seto believed his name was - had died a few years ago. Seto wondered who had taken the pictures… and who was the other man in these pictures, the one with the small male knelt blissfully between his legs? He looked at the next picture and dropped the whole series of them, eyes wide. The second picture showed the male Ryou was pleasing: a blond that Seto knew all too well. 

Despite the dancing display the night before, it was somehow impossible for him to understand that Jounouchi was like that, that Jounouchi was … 

"Seto! Ready to go?" Seto cringed, hastily putting the pictures back in the video cover and returning the video to the box. He exited the room swiftly, but the image of Jounouchi with his hands curled into Ryou's hair, body bent in ecstasy, burnt in his mind. "What were you doing in Jounouchi's room?" 

"Admiring his hammock," Seto answered dryly as they left the apartment. He noticed that Mokuba locked the door behind them. How domestic and sweet. 

"Yea, it's pretty amazing. I hate that thing. I ended up sleeping there one night on a dare, and I think Jou's insane for liking it." 

Seto nodded. After a few minutes of silence, Mokuba cleared his throat. 

"Seto, you're awfully quiet, so I guess that means you're a little upset," Mokuba said nervously. "I guess you should have every right to be, since I never said anything about me and Yuugi…" Mokuba paused, blushing. "I guess that's the least I could have done." 

"Hm?" Seto asked, sparing a glance at his brother as he stopped at a red light. What the hell was Mokuba babbling about? "What do you mean?" 

"That we... we, uh…" Mokuba was blushing a darker shade of pink. "I mean, I guess if I answered the bedroom door like that, there's really no way to deny it anymore…" 

Seto spared a small laugh. Well, there went his plan of scaring his brother before telling him that he knew. "That." He paused, faking a serious and upset expression for a moment. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mokuba shift nervously, and he flashed a small smile. "Don't get so worked up. I've known you've been having sex for a long time now." 

Mokuba's jaw fell open as the light turned green and Seto sped up. "What? You always give me shit about not having sex before I'm 18…" 

"I liked watching you try to cover it up." 

"Sneaky bastard. How long have you known?" 

Seto smiled, despite the fact that the memory provided visuals he could have lived without. "Your 15th birthday party. Your bedroom door wasn't closed all the way." Seto shook his head. "Then again, even if the door had been closed, I swear you screamed loud enough to shake the foundations of the house." 

"Oh!" Mokuba laughed. "I remember that! I kind of hoped no one had noticed…" 

"I was just down the hall, how could I have not heard?" 

"I didn't think of that at the time!" Mokuba snickered softly. "No one else seemed to know what was going on. I take that back: Jou knew. Later he told me that he was in on the whole thing. Would you believe that was sort of my birthday present? It was my first time." Mokuba sounded nostalgic. "Well, it wasn't really my gift… come to think of it, I don't know what Yuugi had planned to do; I asked him if he wanted to have sex before I got a chance to find out. But, Seto! The whole time I was-" 

Seto blushed against his will. When was the last time he had blushed? "Too much information, little brother," he interrupted. He was nearing the parking lot of Kaiba Corp., pulling in through the guard station. 

"Aw, but brothers talk about stuff like this. Man, do I have stories to tell you…" 

"We're on work grounds. Time to be serious," Seto said sternly as he found his parking space, slipping into the comfortable demeanor of his work attitude, which provided the perfect excuse not to hear Mokuba's sex stories. He had made it clear to Mokuba when he began working at Kaiba Corp. that once they were in work zones, they were work associates first and brothers second… unless it was serious. 

"That's an evasion," Mokuba teased. "But fine, let's get serious." Seto parked the car, and Mokuba unbuckled his seat belt. Before he got out of the car he said, "But since I have to be serious, I can't tell you about what we did in this car last week." With that, he got out of the car and closed his door, walking nonchalantly towards the building, leaving Seto watching him with wide eyes for a moment before he turned off the car and followed. 

--

"I don't want to go," Jounouchi said firmly, sitting at the table and eating his breakfast cereal. 

"C'mon," Yuugi pleaded from where he stood, across from Jounouchi. "It'll be fun." 

"Yea, but I gotta be under the same roof as Kaiba. He's such a dick! Did I tell you what he did the last week?" 

Yuugi nodded. "Several times. Chances are Kaiba is just as disgusted with the idea of spending time with you as you are, but Mokuba invited everyone over, so it's not like the two of you will be alone. It's only a few hours." Jounouchi turned away as Yuugi gave him that big-eyed look. Damn it, he hated when Yuugi tried to use that one against him… "Please?" 

"Damn it, Yuugi. I hate when you beg. You're twenty years old, aren't you a little old for the puppy-eyes thing?" 

"Not if it works," Yuugi said smugly. "So are you going to come over?" 

Jounouchi frowned, and then smiled. "Only if you answer me one question." 

"Anything!" Yuugi answered elatedly. 

"Where you looking through my porn?" 

Yuugi blushed, his eyes wide in shock. "No; why would I? It's all guys and girls in there, right?" 

It was Jounouchi's turn to flush and he stared down at his cereal. "Erm, not entirely… ya see, I got some… other stuff in there… and that was the stuff that was out of order…" 

With a soft laugh Yuugi asked, "Order?" 

Jounouchi nodded. "Easy to find what I need that way." 

"You need a girl, Jou. Or a boy. Just someone of more substance than your overactive imagination and right hand." Yuugi was shaking his head and stood from the table. "Anyway, we'll leave around 2, okay?" 

Jounouchi nodded, but he was still thinking about his pornography. Who would have been messing around with the pictures of him and Ryou? The mere thought that someone might have seen them made him blush. Maybe Mokuba had stumbled across them on accident… Yea, he would ask Mokuba later if it had been him. 

--

Seto sat in the corner of the living room, scowl on his face as he watched Mokuba's friends stumbling all over each other, playing and talking as though they were the only ones in the world. It gave him a headache to be in the same room with them. Still, Mokuba had all but gotten on his hands and knees, begging Seto to "have some fun" and watch a few movies with them, so Seto had agreed. 

It was a shame he was finding it difficult to actually enjoy himself. Not only was he not particularly fond of pizza, but he was finding it difficult to look at Jounouchi, even to mock him. Every time he looked at the blond, Seto saw him in his mind's eye with his head tossed back, saw that other boy between his legs… it unraveled him, imagining Jounouchi like that. 

"Hey! Who's going to go pick up the food?" 

"I'll do it," Seto answered, his voice neutral. Everyone paused and turned to look at him. 

Except Mokuba. His brother was excited. "Cool! What does everyone want?" 

Seto cringed against the obnoxious noise the other males made, as they tried to make their opinions known. Mokuba was laughing, trying to get them to talk one at a time… Where did his brother get the infinite patience for their idiocy? What was it about them that his brother find alluring? 

In his mind Seto saw a flash of Jounouchi on the night of Otogi's party, dancing evocatively with Honda… 

"Seto!" Mokuba's voice jarred him from his contemplation. "What do you want?" 

"I don't like pizza," Seto said. "Don't worry about it." 

"Kaiba, you have to come up with something," Otogi chided with a grin. "You might find something you like." 

Seto was irritated by Otogi's assumptions. "Doubtful." He turned his attention to Mokuba. "What else should I pick up besides the pizza?" The longer he could stay out of the living room… He saw the expression of displeasure on Mokuba's face and knew that Mokuba understood why Seto was being so generous with helping. 

"I don't know, take someone with you to help." 

"I'll help," Yuugi volunteered, and Seto cringed. Fuck. He almost would have preferred to take Jounouchi with him... 

And that was how he ended up in the car - four different pizzas sitting in the backseat and Yuugi in the passenger seat, chattering on about what he needed to get at the grocery store. Seto was reminded of a time long ago when Yami had gotten into the very same car, and was tempted for a second to ask to speak with the spirit… God, if only it were that easy, if only he thought they would just talk! But what would they talk about, anyway? What was there to say? Without realizing it, Seto had slumped in his seat even as he was driving. 

"Are you okay?" Yuugi asked. "You looked tired." 

"Sure." He didn't want to bear his soul to Yuugi, didn't want to explain that he still missed Yami. 

Yuugi sounded hurt when he burst out, "Why don't you like me, Kaiba?" Seto was surprised. He hadn't expected that Yuugi gave a damn. 

"We're rivals." His voice sounded so bland, empty and meaningless. He didn't believe that. It had been at least two years since he and Yuugi had last dueled. 

"Not anymore," Yuugi pointed out as though he could follow Seto's thoughts. "I've been with Mokuba for four years, and at least you stopped throwing things at me, but you've never really been warm to me." 

"Does it matter if I'm nice to you?" 

"It does if I'm with Mokuba. I'd like to think you like me at least a little bit." 

"I like you just enough." Seto was mocking him, and - even worse - he was enjoying the opportunity to get the slight male get flustered, acting like an angry child despite his age. 

"Jou's right, you are a jackass." Yuugi was glaring out the windshield when he added, "And it's not even about me. That's the worst part. If you've got to hate me, I'd prefer if you'd hate **me**." 

Seto blinked. "I don't know what you mean." But he did, he followed what Yuugi thought… 

"Bullshit. It's about Yami. You hate him - for whatever reason you've convinced yourself to - and therefore you hate me by association." 

Seto focused on the road. They were nearing the grocery store. 

Yuugi couldn't have been more wrong. 

He sped a little bit as he turned into the parking lot, stopping the car at the first spot he could find. "I'll wait here." Yuugi glared before he left the car, going into the grocery store without looking back. Seto took that time to fold his arms over the steering wheel, leaning forward wearily, resting his forehead against his arms. Was that what Yuugi thought… what Yami thought? Did they think it was all about hate? God, he hadn't hated for Yami is so long… He remembered one of the last things Yami had said to him: "…I was just your replacement lover…" 

Maybe Yami had been a replacement, but there could be no replacing Yami. That was the worst part of the whole situation, that knowledge that he would probably carry his love for Yami like a cross for the rest of his life. 

Seto groaned against his will, wishing he could somehow erase his memories of those weeks, just enough to let him escape this inner angst he couldn't seem to let go of… He was supposed to be stronger than this! 

He didn't move until he heard Yuugi get into the car. He began to the drive without speaking. He wasn't in the mood to talk. 

--

Jounouchi grinned at Yuugi as he entered holding up a bag. "Great!" He took the bag, looking through the contents: beer, popcorn, and random candy. It was perfect. Anzu was peeking over his shoulder. 

"Why do I feel out of place right now? This is like a boy's night…" 

"You're one of the boys!" Yuugi protested, wrapping her in a hug. Anzu rolled her eyes. 

"From anyone else, I might have been insulted." 

Jounouchi bit his lip against a comment and took out a beer, tossing it to Honda. Honda grinned. 

"Great, man! Thanks." Honda turned to Seto. "Want one?" 

Seto shook head, standing idly by the coffee table where he had deposited the pizzas. "I don't drink." 

Jounouchi gaped, and curiosity got the better of him. "Why not? I mean, I'm no alcoholic, but every once and a while…" 

Seto sneered, "You looked like an alcoholic last time I saw you, face-down on the couch. Then again, I'm not surprised. I can't imagine you in that hammock of yours when you're sober, let alone drunk off your ass." 

Wait, how had Seto known he had a hammock? Jounouchi remembered Seto coming over, remembered Seto opening the door to his room… 

No, that wasn't anywhere near logical. Seto wouldn't go in his room, had no reason to… 

But he had never told Seto about his hammock. That could only mean… That son of a bitch! It must have been him! Jounouchi flushed with anger. 

"You were in my room," he accused. Seto looked at him and seemed to be caught off guard for a moment. If that hadn't been enough to assure Jounouchi was right, the way Seto couldn't meet his eyes did. Rashly he lunged at Seto, wanting to hit him, to cause him harm… but that wouldn't stop his embarrassment. Of all people, it HAD to be Seto who had gone rifling through his room. That was his fucking luck. 

Jounouchi was aware that Seto was fighting back. After all the time of sharp words thrown back and forth, they had finally come to this, exchanging blows. It was surprisingly exhilarating to hit Seto; he had wanted to do it for so long. The moment was short-lived before hands were pulling them apart, shouting. Jounouchi was panting, glaring at Seto. He wasn't just embarrassed, he was furious that he didn't know what Seto was thinking. It was doubtless that he thought Jounouchi was some sort of whore, and he hated that. Sure, general contempt was one thing, he could handle that… but he was no man's whore, and he wanted to make that very clear. His voice was full of bitterness as he snarled, "Those pictures were none of your business." 

Seto scoffed. "As though I cared about them." Well, at least he wasn't trying to deny it. 

"You shouldn't have gone in there!" 

Seto showing indifference… that was almost as insulting as him thinking Jounouchi was a slut. 

"And I don't intend to again, so drop it." Seto looked at Mokuba, who was standing in front of him, holding him in a hug. Jounouchi simply didn't understand what Mokuba saw in Seto. Damn, he wished his friends would let him go. Seto was tender with Mokuba, pulling him off slowly before leaving the room. 

Mokuba looked at Jounouchi, and it was clear he was livid. "I want an explanation. NOW." 

--

Seto heard Mokuba arguing with Jounouchi down the hall. He had ducked into his office, and even though his computer was on, he wasn't working; he was listening to Mokuba. 

"What are you yelling about back there? Pictures? Big deal! You don't just attack a man in his own home!" Mokuba was shouting. 

"I'm sorry," Jounouchi answered, "but it was more than just pictures… they were personal." 

"Oh, how fucking personal can pictures be?" 

Jounouchi's voice was seething, and Seto felt the urge to go protect his brother… even though he was sure everyone else was listening as attentively as he was; surely they would rush in if they suspected Mokuba would come to any harm. "They were pictures of me with Ryou." 

"So? You have pictures of your friends all over the place." 

"How dense can you be?" Jounouchi yelled. "Do I have to spell it out? Ryou and I were fucking!" 

There was silence. The whole hallway - hell, the whole house - seemed thick with it. Finally, Mokuba said, his voice small, "The dead one?" 

"Yes, the dead one. Do you know any others?" Jounouchi snapped. 

Mokuba was stumbling over his words, and it came as a small comfort to Seto that he wasn't the only one who hadn't known. "I didn't… I mean… but STILL, you could have just, I don't know, asked for an apology or something…" 

"I don't WANT his apology, I… ugh, fuck it, I'm outta here." Seto could hear Jounouchi stomping down the hall. The silence loomed again and Seto stared at his computer. 

Jounouchi was right, it had been none of his business. It defeated him to know that he had been wrong, going into Jounouchi's room like that. He despised the idea of being wrong against the blond, even just once… Seto leaned back against his chair. How could such a small confrontation take so much out of him? His eyes drifted closed, just for a moment… 

Blond hair; the vague sensation of being touched; a moan, a groan, a sigh of exultation… 

Seto's eyes flew open. 

And how was it that he couldn't get the blond out of is head? 

**- end part vi -**

* * *

**- author thoughts... -**  
I like this part. As a matter of fact, I like just about everything that happens after this. ^_^ Just about. And I thought Mokuba was so cute, jumping to his brother's defense, even against Jounouchi. 

And my beta… is probably tearing out her hair; all these parts are really long… yup, I think my poor Hanachan was on the verge of suicide. *kidding* So I hope everyone likes it…. 


	7. Stupid

**_.......right. who owns Yu-Gi-Oh? not I, says the samurai!_**

* * *

**Part VII  
(Stupid)**

"We're okay, Yuugi, really," Mokuba assured. 

Mokuba's words were wasted; Yuugi was teeming, and there was no calming him. He gripped the phone so hard his knuckles were white. "How did someone break into your house, anyway? You're security is supposed to be flawless!" 

"I know," Mokuba conceded. "That's why I called; they want us to stay somewhere else until security can figure out where the breech was. I'm not supposed to call or see anyone while we're in 'hiding', so it could be a few days or so before I get a chance to see you again." 

"What?" Yuugi swore. "Where are you staying?" 

"We don't know yet." 

"Stay here." Yuugi said it as though it was a stroke of genius. 

"No good; Seto and I can't be separated." 

"Kaiba can stay too." 

Mokuba laughed, but he didn't sound the least bit amused. "Ha! Seto and Jou under the same roof. Have you lost your mind? Besides, I don't think Jou likes me anymore." 

"That's not true," Yuugi answered soothingly. 

"He hasn't talked to me in two weeks!" 

"He's just embarrassed. Look, I'll convince him it's a good idea for you and Kaiba to stay; you just worry about your brother." 

Mokuba was hesitant. "Okay, but I don't promise anything." 

"Fair enough." Yuugi hung up the phone and went immediately to Jounouchi's door, walking in without knocking. The blond was lying in his hammock, blankets covering his unmoving form. "Wake up," Yuugi demanded. 

"No," Jounouchi answered, and it was obvious that he was awake. 

"Jou, did you hear the news?" 

"No." 

"Someone broke onto the Kaiba estate. Security didn't catch him until he was already in the house." 

Jounouchi turned his head and grinned at Yuugi. "Was he trying to kill Kaiba?" 

Yuugi shrugged. "No one knows. But security wants Kaiba and Mokuba out of the house for a while, and I thought they could stay with us." 

Jounouchi groaned, "Both of them?" 

"They can't be separated. Please, Jou? They'd be safe here, and if they go somewhere else I won't see Mokuba until they whole thing is fixed." 

Jounouchi winked at Yuugi, smiling despite his evident irritation with Yuugi's proposal. "You just want to play house with Mokuba." 

With a blush on his cheeks Yuugi protested, "AND I want to see them safe." 

"Fine," Jounouchi sighed. "But so help me god if Kaiba crosses my path-" He was cut off by Yuugi running over to hug him, nearly tipping over the hammock. 

"Thanks. And why are you ignoring Mokuba? He's really upset by it." 

"I…" Jounouchi was stuck. "He… Kaiba…" 

Yuugi cut into Jounouchi's stammering, "Don't be mad a him for defending Kaiba; he'd even kick **my** ass if I messed with his big brother." 

Jounouchi conceded, a smile gracing his features. "I know." 

--

Seto scowled at the security guard who was standing in the doorway, leaving final instructions before he departed. "Do not leave unless someone leaves with you. I'll send someone to got to school with Mokuba in the morning, as well as someone to go to work with you." Seto was tempted to remind the man whom he worked for. Still, he was listening obediently, ignoring Jounouchi and Mokuba talking in the kitchenette, ignoring the image from the corner of his eye as the blond hugged his little brother and ruffled his hair, completely ignoring… 

When had the security guard left? 

"So, where would you like to sleep?" Yuugi was asking him. Right, focus on the short one beside him. "You could sleep on the couch, or in Jou's room." Seto was ignoring the death glare that Jounouchi was giving Yuugi. 

Mokuba chimed in, "I gotta warn you, Seto; their couch is the horrible. Hatred aside, I'd sleep on Jou's floor any day of the week." 

"Hey!" Yuugi protested. "It may not be the best couch, but I've made a lot of fond memories on it." 

Mokuba blushed, licking his lips and looking away, a light blush covering his cheeks. "Uh, yea. Good point." 

Seto stared at Mokuba and said icily, "I don't care where I sleep." 

Yuugi looked lost. "Uh, well then…" 

Mokuba practically ordered, "Just sleep on Jou's floor." To Jounouchi Mokuba was saying, "Seto's a fitful sleeper when he does sleep. He'd probably fall off the couch." 

"Fine." Jounouchi was agreeing, and Seto internally swore. He wondered if he could change his mind… Pride told him not too; what sort of person said one thing, and then said another? Not Seto Kaiba. Besides, he wasn't afraid of the mutt or his floor. 

Seto ended up idling away his day. He'd tried to get some work done on his laptop, but it was hard to concentrate over the din of Jounouchi and Mokuba playing games. Mokuba retired to bed around ten - his usual bedtime for school - and Yuugi was suddenly very tired fifteen minutes later, retiring to bed himself… convenient that Yuugi and Mokuba were sharing a room. Jounouchi went to bed about the same time as Yuugi, giving Seto some silence to work in… but by eleven he was tired himself, and he decided to try and get some sleep. The first time in a long time he'd actually wanted to go to bed. When he entered the room Jounouchi was sitting on the floor, tape in hand; he looked thoughtful. Seto recognized the box Jounouchi was sitting in front of and turned away. 

Damn guilt. He hated guilt. He wasn't supposed to feel guilt, hadn't in years, not since… "I'm sorry," he said quickly, his voice near monotone. There. He said it. No more guilt. He crossed the room to the corner where some blankets and pillows were piled, assuming that was where he was to sleep. He had just set on organizing the blankets when Jounouchi interrupted him. 

"Come here." Seto turned to see Jounouchi staring at him. Curious (and unwilling to admit it) Seto went to him, kneeling down. When had he started taking orders from the mutt? To cover his submissive actions, Seto glared as though irritated. That would hide his curiosity. "You're smart, right? What does this say?" Jounouchi was holding that tape out to him, the one with the strange markings. Seto stared down at it. 

"You don't know?" 

Jounouchi shook his head. "Ryou wrote it, told me that if I was meant to figure it out I would. He had a strange sense of humor." 

Seto took the tape; his hand brushed Jounouchi's. He examined the writing - even though he had already done so once before - and tried to discern something familiar from the shapes. Jounouchi was leaning in to examine the tape himself, face only a few inches from Seto's. His hand had fallen onto Seto's thigh. 

"Well?" His breath was hot; Seto could feel it. All the closeness bothered him in ways that he couldn't - or rather, didn't want to - understand and he handed the tape back to Jounouchi. 

"I don't know," he said coolly. He was shaken, and he refused to show it. He stood and murmured something about taking a shower, leaving the room quickly. When he returned the lights were out, and Jounouchi was snoring loudly, limbs splayed every which way. 

Terrific. He was sharing a room with someone who slept like a monkey. With a resigned sigh Seto organized his little corner so he'd be able to sleep. He didn't mind sleeping on the floor; it was actually sort of nice. Firm. Absolute. Uncomfortable. He didn't want to be comfortable, not when Yami - via Yuugi - was so close by. He lied down and pulled the blanket up over his head as though the fabric would keep out the world. 

--

Seto didn't know what time it was when he bolted upright, waking violently from sleep. He was sitting stiffly, gripping the blankets around him as though his life depended it. He looked around frantically, resisting the urge to groan. It was another one of those dreams, the sort of dreams that had plagued newly pubescent boys since the beginning of time. The sort of dream that made Seto realize how much it really did suck to be abstinent for long periods of time. Seto Kaiba or no, he was still a man, and that meant all the pitfalls that came with manhood. 

Damn, was the room hot, or was it just him? 

He was alone… well, not alone, not if he counted Jounouchi, who was still sleeping in his hammock, his snores replaced by occasional grunts and groans. 

Stupid. That was the only word that Seto could think, sophomoric as it was. Stupid. Stupid erotic dreams, stupid him for agreeing to stay in this apartment, stupid him for giving into Mokuba's pleas… 

Stupid him for loving Yami in the first place. For letting Yami haunt him. In the end it was all in his head; he should have been able to control it. 

The mutt grumbled in his sleep, rolling a bit to his left. The hammock tilted, and Jounouchi was precariously close to the edge. Seto stared, hoping to see Jounouchi fall. That could lift his spirits a little bit. 

He ignored the small part of him that was tempted to help. 

But Jounouchi didn't fall. Rather he continued to mumble in his sleep… actually, he wasn't just mumbling. Seto blinked as he realized the suggestive noises that Jounouchi was making in his sleep, sighing and moaning softly. Apparently Jounouchi's dreams weren't any purer than his. He flushed and kicked the hammock. He only meant to jar it enough to make Jounouchi shut up… but instead it tipped completely, depositing Jounouchi to the floor with a loud thump. 

At least Seto got to see him fall. 

"Ow," Jounouchi whined, stretching out from his place on the floor. He was tangled in his blankets, and didn't show signs of getting up any time in the near future. 

"Dumb ass." Nothing like starting a fight in the wee hours of the morning to sooth the spirit. 

"Oh, _fuck you_. Do you get some sick pleasure from waking me up rudely?" 

"What makes you think I woke you up?" 

Jounouchi snorted. "Am I supposed to believe it's coincidence that the first time I've fallen out of my bed in three months just HAPPENS to be the same night that I share a room with the biggest asshole on the planet?" 

"Is that supposed to hurt my feelings?" Seto sneered. "It shut you up, so I don't care how pissed you are." Jounouchi apparently decided to ignore him and set to untangling himself from his blankets, standing to rearrange his hammock. Seto averted his gaze. 

_Nice tent in your shorts there._

He cringed. What a horrible thought. "Can't you dress decently?" he snapped. _Because you look a little too good undressed for my tastes._ That thought wasn't any better. 

"Eh? Oh, quit being a blushing virgin; it's something you should see every day… unless you're ill-equipped." Jounouchi seemed to find this tremendously amusing and was laughing. 

"Wouldn't you love to find out?" Seto growled, making sure that his blanket covered his lap properly; he had his own minor problem to deal with the first chance he got the chance to sneak out. 

"Psh. That's one dick I'd pay money not to see." 

"The feeling is mutual, so could you wear something besides boxers while I'm forced to sleep in this room?" 

"Does this mean you'll get offended if I start beating off?" 

Seto gaped. "Vulgar." He realized that the mutt was getting him flustered on purpose, and was enjoying it. Seto growled to himself. Stupid him for starting a fight when he wasn't prepared to be hit below the belt. "I'm sleeping on the couch. Nothing can be worse than a room with you." He stood, holding the blanket firmly around him. 

It was an unfortunate accident; in his rush to leave he tripped over the edge of his own blanket. He stumbled forward, running into Jounouchi and sending them both to the floor. Seto almost laughed in triumph as Jounouchi's head hit the floor, but all victory was lost as Jounouchi stared at him with widened eyes. He looked… bothered? Come to think of it, Seto was bothered himself, and in all the wrong ways. Any other day he would have been disgusted, would have brushed the whole event off, but now - when he was already aroused from completely unrelated reasons - being pressed against all that flesh, feeling every movement and contour of that body was enough to make Seto ready to take what he could get and not care who it was from. 

"I'm indecent?' Jounouchi challenged suddenly. "You're molesting me!" 

"I am not!" Seto pushed himself away, sitting on his knees. What had he been thinking? His mind was not run by sex, his mind was **not** run by sex… 

"What do you call that?" 

"Embarrassing." He glared at Jounouchi. "And you'd be begging for it if I were molesting you." There; just enough taunting to repair his bruised ego. 

"Yea right. You couldn't make a whore moan." 

Seto bristled. "You'd be lower than a whore." 

"So says you. Ice isn't something I find kinky." 

"Then we're even. Bestiality is wrong." 

Jounouchi growled, "Kaiba, there ain't no one here to stop me from hitting you." 

"Give it your best shot," Seto taunted, giving a short disbelieving laugh. Jounouchi tried to tackle him, but it only got him back on the floor, pinned down by Seto. That wasn't to say that Jounouchi was going down without a fight. In the frenzy of the moment he bit Seto's arm. 

It made Seto pause. There was something about the strange bolt it sent through his already-sensitive nerves… 

For a moment he forgot it was Jounouchi. 

For a moment he forgot they were fighting. 

In that moment he lost an ounce of his control, grinding against the body beneath him. Jounouchi gasped, and Seto bit back a groan as the mutt's body bent up to meet his. He closed his eyes, moving against Jounouchi almost automatically, craving nothing more than sensation. Jounouchi wasn't fighting him, wasn't doing anything to bring their bizarre situation to an end… 

If anyone had asked Seto how it happened later, he wouldn't have been able to explain it. He honestly wasn't sure exactly what had been done, or how, only why: blind lust, flesh seeking its own pleasures, leaving the mind behind. He had taken Jounouchi for all he was worth, and - the oddest of all - Jounouchi had enjoyed it, leaving bruising fingerprints on his skin and teeth marks on his shoulder. All Seto knew for sure that he never kissed Jounouchi, had kept enough of his sense to know that he would never want to kiss Jounouchi. 

The only thing that Seto remembered moment for moment was what it was like when all was said and done. He had pulled away like he was burnt. Jounouchi hadn't reacted much better… actually, Jounouchi hadn't reacted much at all, lying on the floor with his eyes closed, sweat-damp hair falling back from his face. He didn't look like he felt anything. How could he seem so calm when Seto himself was on the verge of being ill? He couldn't understand what had come over him, why he had needed to do something, why **then**… 

Eventually Jounouchi sat up, and to Seto's surprise he put on a t-shirt and pajama bottoms before he finished righting the hammock and returned to sleep. He didn't talk. Seto didn't talk either, going to his own resting place. He lied on his back and closed his eyes. He had no idea how much time passed as he thought, confused. There it was, that moment of finality that he had hoped would never come. 

He had sex with someone else. Seto was moving on… and he didn't know how to feel about that. He let that thought sit, let it raise a feeling of sickness in his stomach and horror in his head… and then he regained his composure. No more mental flailing, no more trying to figure out why he felt so sated and so torn at the same time. Seto Kaiba didn't get overwhelmed by his emotions. Hell, nothing overwhelmed Seto Kaiba. If one part of him was ready to move on, the rest could follow. It had to happen eventually… but Seto would have preferred if it hadn't been with the mutt, of ALL people… 

How stupid of him. 

At least it was over. He closed his eyes and forced sleep, determined to leave the night and all it's half-remembered events behind. 

**- end part vii -**

* * *

**- author thoughts… -**  
I came to the conclusion that stoic as he is, Seto is still a guy… déjà vu? Hmm… But in any case, that means he'd still have those guy thoughts… like they say: man has a brain and a dick, but only enough blood to run one at a time. Or something like that. ^^ 

This part… was such a bitch. I want to kick it really really really hard. I had to rewrite the second half 3 times… because nothing seemed to work, and I finally figured out why. This scene had to be mindless, nondescript, completely just…out there. I hope I pulled it off okay… Mm, primal-ness. 


	8. Meaningless Trysts

**_Yu-Gi-oh! does not belong to ashes. Nope. Also, while we're on the topic, ashes hates disclaimers; boring, and she never has anything interesting to say…_**

* * *

**Part VIII  
(Meaningless Trysts)**

At first they pretended nothing had happened. More precisely, they didn't say anything that would acknowledge or discount the encounter. With some amusement Seto noticed that they fought fiercer the next day, and Jounouchi's temper was easier to kindle. The second day in Yuugi and Jounouchi's apartment was actually very interesting, with Jounouchi finding a new reason to snap at Seto every five minutes. 

The second night it happened again, and once again they retired to sleep without a word to each other, and spent the third day bickering. It got so serious that at one point Yuugi had been forced to take Jounouchi out. 

The third night they had finally took the initiative and said something. "Why does this keep happening?" Seto demanded from where he was lying. "Are you that much of a slut?" 

"Fuck you," Jounouchi said absently. "It's all about sex; I don't know about you, but I haven't gotten any in a while." 

"Hmph." Seto wasn't going to answer that. 

Jounouchi continued, "Maybe we should just… make this a habit. Nothing serious, not like a relationship: no one in his right mind would want a relationship with you. It's just… relief." 

Seto didn't like the idea; it was far too casual for his tastes. But at the same time, that relationship thing… Seto didn't want another relationship. Sex without strings was tempting, even if it was with the mutt. At least he had a nice body, and knew how to give in. "Fine," he said roughly. 

--

After that it turned into a routine between them: when one beckoned, the other followed. At first it had been easy to go at it unnoticed, during that first week when Seto and Jounouchi had shared a room. However, after that Seto and Mokuba returned home, and it was a little more complicated than just waiting until everyone was in bed. It became so methodical that it was disturbingly comical. Sometimes Seto would call; he wouldn't speak, but Jounouchi always knew when it was him. Within half an hour Jounouchi would be in his bed, and usually within another forty-five minutes he would be gone again, back to what he had been doing. 

And sometimes Jounouchi called Seto's cell phone, and he in turn was silent. Seto would say something - usually something that would both make it seem as though he had received a real phone call and tell Jounouchi where he was - and Jounouchi would find him; more than enough times he'd found himself in Seto's office at Kaiba Corp., and at least once he'd had to hide in the closet during an unexpected meeting. 

There were no delusions between them; they never pretended. They weren't friends, weren't lovers… hell, Jounouchi wouldn't even have said that they were acquaintances if someone had asked. They still fought vehemently as ever outside of bed; Jounouchi still thought that Seto was a pompous jackass, and Seto made it clear he thought Jounouchi was an imbecile. 

The only thing they liked about each other was sex. 

That was Jounouchi's story… and he was sticking to it. 

"Jou," Yuugi jarred Jounouchi from his thoughts. Jounouchi hadn't even noticed that his friend had come home from work. He struggled to sit up on the couch, making room for the smaller male to sit. Yuugi took the unspoken invitation. "We should talk." 

"About what?" Jou asked, stretching his feet out onto the floor. The situation felt strangely paternal; Yuugi had a way of saying things that made Jounouchi feel like he was being question by a father figure. 

"What's going on with you and Kaiba?" 

"Nothing." The answer was too sudden, too forced. 

"You're lying, Jou; he calls all the time, I can see on the caller ID. And you leave more often." Yuugi smiled slyly. "You two are together, huh? Romantic trysts…" 

"No, Yuugi, it's not…" Jounouchi was saddened by Yuugi's naiveté; he didn't want to admit that it was just casual sex, if not for his own interests then just for Yuugi's ideals. "Just… don't tell anyone. Not even Mokuba." It wouldn't hurt to let Yuugi believe what he wanted, just once. 

Yuugi was nodding. "Not a soul." Grinning and apparently satisfied with what he had learned he stood, leaving Jounouchi and going into his room. Jounouchi sighed… Damn. Sex didn't solve anything, but it was a great distraction. Maybe he was a little addicted to it, addicted to- 

He didn't care to finish that thought. He was just about to go find the phone when Yuugi's bedroom door opened again. He turned to see Yuugi. No, wait… Jounouchi checked the stature, the way he held himself… He was looking at Yami. 

"Hi," he said, settling back onto the couch. He never saw Yami for long; the spirit was either leaving or just stretching. It would be nice to have a chat with him. 

"Now we need to talk," Yami said softly, and Jounouchi stared. Yami wasn't big on giving talks, at least not as much as he used to, and that tone… Mutely Jounouchi nodded, watching as Yami sat on the couch beside him. There was silence between them before Yami finally pleaded, "Don't hurt him." The tone of his voice was softer than usual, and it was enough to make Jounouchi's heart ache. 

Back that thought up. Why was Yami begging on Seto's behalf? "I'm not in a position to hurt him," Jounouchi admitted. "We just have sex to do it." 

Yami shook his head. "True now, maybe, but it won't last. Once you know him - really know him - you won't be able to stay indifferent to him." Yami was staring at him thoughtfully and he smiled sadly, touching Jounouchi's shoulder. "But I think you already know that." 

Jounouchi turned away, his head bowed to look at his knees. He was uncomfortable under Yami's scrutiny. He hated how Yami did that, how Yami just stared and seemed to know exactly what someone was thinking, like he could see their mind, their heart, their soul. 

Damn it, he didn't want to talk about it… but if he ever intended to say anything, Yami would be the person to spill it to. "I don't mean to give a damn about him." Jounouchi sounded like a guilty child. "I'm supposed to hate him… no, I do hate him." His voice was falsely firm, and even he could tell that he was trying to convince himself. "This is all about sex." 

Sagely Yami replied, "Maybe you did hate him; I'd be the first person to agree with that. The problem with hate is that it requires passion equal to love. If you change how you channel that passion, you change the emotion." Yami stood slowly. "Perhaps **he** should be warned not to hurt you." With those pensive words Yami left Jounouchi alone. 

Jounouchi sat up immediately. He needed to see Seto. 

He didn't bother calling. 

--

Seto looked up in surprise as Jounouchi walked into his office at Kaiba Corp. "You should have called," Seto said. "As it is, I'm busy right now with-" 

"Why is Yami telling me to spare your feelings?" Jounouchi demanded. Seto stared, paperwork on his desk forgotten. Yami had done what? 

"How did Yami find out in the first place?" 

"Yuugi put two and two together; what Yuugi knows, Yami knows." Jounouchi was explaining it as though Seto didn't know that… then again, Seto supposed that to the best of Jounouchi's knowledge he DIDN'T know. "Next thing I know, I'm getting advice from Yami." 

Seto retorted stiffly, "It doesn't matter." He watched Jounouchi's expression: Jounouchi didn't look convinced. In fact, he looked like he was working on an argument… Seto stood, crossing the office to lock his office door. 

"I'm not here for sex," Jounouchi said softly. 

"Sure you are," Seto said, returning to Jounouchi, nudging him towards the desk; Jounouchi didn't resist, let himself be backed against the desk. "Why else would you be here? It's all we're good for." His lips lowered to the skin of Jounouchi's neck, and Jounouchi was losing his resolve; he head tilted his head back to give Seto more room. 

"I hate you," he sighed, his voice the embodiment of lazy pleasure. 

Seto laughed sardonically. "And melting under my touch is such a concise way to show hatred." To make his point he reached down, caressing Jounouchi through his pants. Jounouchi groaned. 

"I mean it. I can't stand you." But even as he spoke he was the one giving in, pliable and pleased as Seto undid his jeans. "You're like… ah!… I just… hate you…" Seto grinned against his neck; Jounouchi was easily deterred by sex. That much he had learned in the past weeks. 

"You don't have to like me. That's the great thing about our arrangement." 

Jounouchi stiffened and pushed Seto away. "Arrangement," he said, near bewilderment, his lips curving around the word as though it was strange to him. And he looked at Seto with a hardened glare. "This is ridiculous; I'm no whore. Fuck you. Don't call me anymore." 

"You're the one who came here." Seto was annoyed. "In fact, if memory serves this whole fiasco of sex for sex's sake was your idea." 

Jounouchi growled, "Yea, well, it was stupid, and this is the last time. Got it?" He stormed out of the office, and Seto grinned with cruel amusement as he wondered if Jounouchi had thought to zip up his pants yet. And then, once the humor of that mental image passed, he sat at his desk, and he fumed. 

Damn it! The whole point of what he had with Jounouchi was to distract him from… He paused, the thought half-formed in his head. 

This felt startlingly familiar. 

He felt as though he'd hit a form of enlightenment. That was exactly why he had taken Yami to bed: to try to distract him from Mokuba. It disturbed him, finding a parallel in the two relationships. He harbored nothing but a malicious indifference towards Jounouchi on a good day, but he loved Yami even at his worst. Still, he found it strange. He had never realized that he was the sort to seek distraction rather than solution when it came to personal relationships. He would have to change that. 

So, Jounouchi hated him, huh? Well, he wasn't alone there. That could be his first matter to changing: resolving that little issue with Jounouchi. 

--

Jounouchi was talking animatedly with Mokuba and Yuugi when the door to their apartment opened. Mokuba gawked to see his brother standing there, glaring at Jounouchi. 

"When did you start just walking in here like you own the place?" Jounouchi asked coldly. Seto stood his ground, staring; Jounouchi matched it with a glare of his own. Yuugi tried to discreetly drag Mokuba into the bedroom; Mokuba refused to move, watching his friend and his brother without hiding his interest. 

Seto was crossing the room, standing just in front of Jounouchi's chair. He pulled the blond to standing position. Jounouchi allowed it, but not without a look of contempt. And then Seto was talking. "You hate me, right?" 

"Right." He said it like it was nothing, stating it like a textbook fact. 

Seto seethed, "You hate me because you're hopeless. You hate me because you hate what you've become in my arms. You don't want to be a slut. You want someone to _hold_ you." Seto's arms wrapped around Jounouchi's waist, pulling him close. Jounouchi's eyes widened in surprise and confusion. "You want someone to kiss you, to love you; you want it so desperately that you don't care who you get it from." Jounouchi's breath hitched as Seto leaned nearer, so close that his breath touched Jounouchi's face. "But you won't get it from me," he hissed. "Because I hate you." 

"Do you?" Jounouchi realized he sounded as odd as he felt, and he didn't particularly care; the whole situation was completely off. "I think you want for those things just like I do." There, he admitted it. He wanted love, but what Seto didn't understand was that it wasn't just for the sake of having it. For some reason he couldn't quite understand, he wanted it from Seto. Maybe it was the sex, or maybe he was something of a masochist. Or maybe there was something deeper, something that he was missing, hidden just below the surface where Jounouchi couldn't see. 

"No; I could give a damn less about love. It's a waste of time. I hate you just like you hate me." 

Jounouchi stared. "Is that right?" Ha! That really shouldn't have been so funny. "You want more from me than my body," he mocked. He was unwavering; it was up to Seto to close the space between them. They had never kissed… Jounouchi saw confusion flash in Seto's face before that icy look prevailed and he shoved Jounouchi back into his seat. 

"Don't be a fool." He turned and left as suddenly as he had entered. And Jounouchi smiled. He was right. Now all that was left was for Seto to realize that… 

"What was THAT all about?" Mokuba was demanding. "Jou, are you and my brother involved?" 

Jounouchi looked at Mokuba slowly. What was that word Yuugi has used…? "No, we just have a series of… hm, meaningless trysts." 

**

- end part viii -

**

* * *

**- author thoughts… -**  
that 'I hate you' scene of Jou's was stuck in my head forever; it's probably why they have such a *cough*fucked-up*cough* relationship… if you would even call it a relationship. 

I suppose I might have gone into the whole process of Jounouchi caring about Seto… but in all honesty I don't think there would be much to tell: it was all easily summarized in a paragraph. I don't think there was any depth to it. 

And damn! I'm in love with Yami's line about passion and hate. 


	9. Nothing Is Ever Truly Closed

**_who owns yu-gi-oh? "not I!" says the samurai._**

* * *

**Part IX  
(Nothing is Ever Truly Closed)**

"_I don't think this is a good idea,_" Yuugi was saying as Yami walked up to the gate of the Kaiba estate. "_I mean, who knows what Kaiba has planned?_" 

Yami was shaking his head. "He just wanted to talk." 

Yuugi answered, "_Well, talking is fine, but what if you two…? I mean, if he just broke up with Jou-" _

"He and Jou weren't in any sort of relationship, Yuugi; they were just having sex." 

Yuugi was silent in his mind as the gates opened; someone must have been watching for Yami. "_Nothing is going to happen_," Yami said, his tone more gentle. He could tell Yuugi was troubled. "_You can even watch, just to prove it. We swore once it was done, and we meant it._" Yami was walking into the house, through the halls he still remembered, going to Seto's home office. He knocked on the door; he was no longer Seto's lover, no longer free to walk in as he pleased. He was a guest now. 

"Come in." Seto sounded business-like as ever. Yami entered; he left the door open. "Sit down." Seto motioned to a chair across from him, on the other side of the desk. Yami almost sighed with relief; there would be a desk between them. He sat, watching Seto. 

"What do you need?" Yami asked. 

"We haven't talked in four years." 

"That's right." 

Seto was looking down at his desk, and then he looked back up at Yami. "Do you know why?" 

"Because it would have been difficult to resist each other." 

Seto was nodding, leaning back in his chair, his hands folded together. "Isn't it sad that our old rivalry has fallen apart? I miss dueling you. You were a worthy adversary. Irritating, but worthy." 

Yami had never heard Seto describe him as worthy. "Thank you." 

"Its not flattery, it's the truth." Seto looked sad and amused all at once. "We were in love once." Yami stared, shocked; what was Seto getting at? "I never said it - I figured it would be useless to tell you when we were on the verge of leaving each other. But I felt it." 

"It's a shame things didn't work out." 

Seto nodded. "It came down a choice, and we made ours." He sat straight again, hands resting on the desk. His tone was softer as he added, "I haven't been able to let go of you in four years." 

Yami felt a small smile grace his features; ah, he understood. He had always been able to understand Seto, whether they were fighting or just talking. "And you called me here today to do that." 

Seto nodded. "I need to be sure that I can look at you and not feel those old feelings." 

"And do you? 'Feel those old feelings', that is." 

Seto paused, staring at Yami intently. Yami was content to let him examine for as long as he needed. Finally Seto said, "Not the way I used to." 

Yami nodded, and as happy for Seto as he was, a small part of him was sad. "I'm glad." It was all he needed to say. He stood, walked towards the door. He was at the threshold when Seto's voice called out to him, making him pause. 

"We'll have to duel soon." 

Yami looked over his shoulder with a cocky grin. "I look forward to it." 

--

Seto stormed crossly around the manor. Damn it, which one of the attendants had moved his bed? Everyone he asked told him the same thing: they weren't sure, and - of course - no one knew which storage shed the bed was hidden in, not even the people who were paid specifically to make sure the stuff in storage was well cared for and clean. When had he started hiring people who were apparently brain-dead? 

He wanted to call Jounouchi. He had resolved things with Yami, which meant Jounouchi was next… but first he wanted his old bed back. He hated the new one, and he was finally able to admit it out loud. He told everyone he saw. There was a strange catharsis in letting things go and realizing feelings that he had ignored. More than enough times his workers looked nervous as he ranted to them about how much he hated his bed, and how he was going to kick someone's ass if he didn't find the old one soon. 

But the emotional outbreak hadn't come suddenly, or easily. 

He had spent a week trying to figure what to do. He kept hearing Jounouchi in his head. "You want more from me than my body." At first he had told himself that Jounouchi was just being imbecilic as always. What would he possibly want with such a nuisance? The mutt was always talking, eating, making an idiot of himself... He was just the sort of person Seto couldn't stand. 

And then he had gotten to thinking… Jounouchi had some admirable qualities. He had stood by his sister whenever she needed him, he was loyal to his friends, and he loved Mokuba; they had at least that little bit in common. Not to mention he had a body that Seto couldn't help but adore: it seemed to fit so well against his own, and he missed it in all its warmth and loveliness. He even admitted to himself that it had felt nice to hold Jounouchi, even though the moment had been brief and mocking. 

He remembered himself in his own office, telling himself he needed to stop avoiding his issues with love and sex and start coming to terms with them. He hadn't really solved anything by telling Jounouchi he hated him. 

The final factor was his memory of Mokuba at thirteen, looking over him at dinner, his tone all business: "You're like that little boy who always yanks a girl's hair because he likes her. It's third grade logic - if you don't know the words to express your feelings, then just pick on the one you want." 

Seto and Jounouchi hated each other. They had hated each other from the first time they met. He had hurt Jounouchi; he always had, and he had enjoyed it. 

And somewhere along the line, Seto had done a complete turn-around... 

He didn't love the mutt the same way he had once loved Yami - he doubted that it was possible to duplicate that feeling - yet love him Seto did. That concept, the idea of loving different people in different ways with an equal amount of emotion, was foreign to him. He didn't quite understand it, but maybe it was one of those things that wasn't meant to be understood… Funny, really; all he had ever taken the time to do was heckle the blond. At least Jounouchi always fought back. That had to stand for something: love, hate, malicious indifference… Seto wasn't sure. In any case, he wasn't afraid of taking risks. 

But first things had come first: Yami. That had been the hardest. Seto would have rather braved a thousand deaths than bring himself to talk to Yami again. That was the x-factor, the one unpredictable element in all his planning, all his thinking… if he looked at Yami and was still in love with him, it would all be brought to shambles, and it would leave Seto more confused and miserable than when he had started. When he saw Yami his bewilderment ebbed. He loved Yami, and Seto was sure that probably wouldn't change. But at the same time he wasn't in love with him, not like he had been, not anymore… 

All that had brought him to the moment after Yami had left his office; he had been staring at his bed, and he hated it. He wanted his old bed, his cream-colored sheets. And then he wanted to pin Jounouchi against them… and kiss him. Nothing more. Seto just wanted to kiss him. 

Of course, that was going to be impossible if he couldn't even FIND the damn bed! He fumed. 

"Damn it!" He walked into Mokuba's room. Mokuba was lying on his bed, pouring over homework. "Mokuba, do you have any idea where my bed is?" 

Mokuba blinked at him. "In your room?" 

Ask a stupid question… "No, my old one." 

"You got a new one?" 

"Never mind." He could search the storage sheds himself. There were only, what, four of them? 

As it turned out, the "sheds" were better described as "warehouses." So, he had started at the beginning. 

In the first one, he had managed to find clothes from when Mokuba was young, old toys, stuffed animals, even a test from when he had been in third grade… but no bed. 

So he figured if the first warehouse housed things from their childhood then the bed - having been stored away just four years ago - would be the last one; he looked there. 

No such luck. 

While he was in the third warehouse he got frustrated and kicked a long, flat crate… and in that unusual display of emotion one side of the badly closed crate fell open. Inside he found his mattress and the pieces to the bed frame; on top of the crate was a box that held his sheets. Great. All he needed now was to find someone to move that bed back into his room. If he hadn't been so relieved that the bed was found he would have wondered why the crate hadn't been closed properly. 

He needed a moment; getting all worked up had taken a lot of energy out of him. Where did people get the much energy to be so emotional? He didn't think he was going to make it a habit, even if things did go well… He sat on the crate, smiling softly. A moment later the door to the warehouse opened. 

"What are you doing in here?" Jounouchi asked, and then sneezed. "It's like a dust collection from hell." 

Seto stared at Jounouchi, letting his smile fall. "How did you find me?" Maybe that wasn't the best opening line. Opening lines had never been a strong point for him. 

Jounouchi pointed out of the warehouse. "Some guy told me that you were out here." 

"Obviously. What do you need?" 

"I just… ugh, never mind, I-" Jounouchi was turning to leave. 

"Wait." 

Jounouchi turned back, looking at Seto. "What?" 

Seto kept his expression calm as he used Jounouchi's own words. "You want more from me than my body." He focused completely on Jounouchi, watching as he fidgeted, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. 

"So what if I do?" Jounouchi looked apprehensive… and he had every right to be. Seto knew he was acting strange, sitting casually in a dusty warehouse, saying things he wouldn't have normally said. 

"Come here." Jounouchi walked over, still looking wary. He lowered himself down beside Seto, watching him curiously. Seto looked back… he didn't REALLY need his bed for the moment; the warehouse seemed to have enough atmosphere to it. He leaned forward, kissing him softly. It sent a shiver down his spine. Jounouchi was still for a moment, unmoving… and then he was giving in, letting Seto deepen the kiss. The taste of Jounouchi was almost intoxicating, and he was glad he had decided the way he had… He was just about willing to sacrifice his own need for air to continue the kiss, but Jounouchi pulled back. 

"I'm not here for sex," he said breathed, almost as though he couldn't comprehend what was happening. 

Seto nodded minutely, his head bumping against Jounouchi's just a little. "I know." 

**- end part ix -**

* * *

**- author thoughts… -**  
Credit for the title of this part goes to Kalynn, who coined those very wise words… I guess that seems more like the name of a final chapter, but I think it described the whole Seto & Yami thing well… Maybe I'm strange? 

Originally when I wrote this part, Seto only answered "No." to Yami's question. Thing was, he spent an entire 8 parts pining over Yami… it made no sense for *poof!* magical getting-over-ness. It made more sense that he could move on, move past that old feelings and let them live on in a different way. But I really like that scene between the two… 

Then comes the rest of the part. I like it, I really do, but I think it was more for a bit of humor before it got serious. Because it's almost done; you know it's gonna get serious. *sniffle* 


	10. Taking Charge

**_who owns yu-gi-oh? "not I!" says the samurai._**

* * *

**Part X  
(Taking Charge)**

Yami sat on the park bench, watching the sun set over the pond. How appropriate it felt to be there as the sun was retiring for the night. He smiled. 

"_Are you okay?_" Yuugi's voice was gentle, coaxing. 

"_I'm fine." _

"You feel… odd. I can't describe it. Explain it to me." 

Yami sighed, ever patient, small smile gracing his features as he spoke. "_I'm happy. Seto deserves more than loneliness." _

"But… you're also sad." 

"Perhaps. But I'm still happy." 

"Yami… you're amazing." Yami felt warm, like Yuugi had embraced him… or how it would have been if Yuugi could. He bowed his head, still smiling. He looked around one last time. 

It had been night before. Now it was twilight, suspended between night and day, the sun leaving in a fiery display of oranges and pinks and reds. Twilight was a lovely way to remember this place. 

"_Thank you_." He stood, turning his back on the sunset, walking away. 

"_Yami_," Yuugi said as "they" walked. 

"_Yes?" _

"I feel bad… you can't move past what happened with Kaiba. You can't find someone new. Doesn't that make you mad?" 

"No," Yami answered. "_Remember, I lived once before; I had a body all to myself then, I assure you, and my own life experiences. I'm glad to have had a chance to fall in love just once in this time_." Yami paused and then added mischievously, "_And if I ever get bored, I can watch you and Mokuba." _

"Yami!" Yuugi protested. "_That's so perverted." _

"You watched." 

"Once! On accident!" Yami could feel Yuugi's embarrassment. "_But that's not the topic. I just worry… you're really going to be okay?" _

"Yes," Yami assured him. "_Stop worrying about me; I'm old enough to take care of my own heart._" Yami crossed his arms over his chest, trying to ward off the chill of the wind as he said softly to himself, "It's due time for other people to take charge of theirs." 

--

Jounouchi followed Seto into the living room. They were walking in silence; it was so heavy that Jounouchi had to fill it somehow. "Are you on drugs?" 

"No," Seto said firmly. 

"Drunk?" 

"Does one kiss bother you that much?" Seto snapped. "Because believe me, we can just as easily part ways here and act like it never happened." Seto sat in an armchair, and Jounouchi made himself at home on the couch, stretching out at staring at Seto. 

"It was weird," he admitted. "It was… well, nice." 

"I can't be nice?" Seto didn't sound hurt or anything. If anything, he sounded like he was mocking Jounouchi. Flippant. 

"It's not normal." 

"I'm willing to break a habit or two for you." Seto's voice didn't seem to change, didn't swell with emotion… but somehow Jounouchi felt the meaning in the words… maybe it was just the words themselves that touched him. 

"Sweet of you." Of course, where Seto was sounding flippant, he was sounding sarcastic. But it was the underlying meaning that mattered, and Jounouchi was sure that the meaning was obvious. 

"Don't think it'll be all peaches and cream," Seto warned darkly. "I'm not a romantic person." 

"Of course," Jounouchi agreed. "I'd probably leave if you just suddenly got all romantic and creepy." 

"Is that so?" Seto looked amused. "And what is it that tethers you here?" 

Jounouchi shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know. I've always had a thing for bad-asses… there's something erotic about the intensity." 

"Masochist." 

"Asshole." 

"Mutt." 

Jounouchi growled, "Pervert." He rolled his eyes. "I really did hate you; don't think I planned this." 

"Hmph." 

"I'm not kidding!" 

Seto gave a short laugh. "Don't get your panties in a bunch. While it's out in the open, I didn't intend for anything like this to happen either." 

There was another awkward moment of silence between them. They stared at each other as though they were unsure how to continue. Jounouchi sighed. Sex had been easier: call, go, do the deed, and leave. He had a feeling this was going to be a lot more complicated. He cleared his throat. "I probably have somewhere I should go…" He stood and started to walk out, but Seto caught his wrist as he passed the armchair. "Yes?" 

"I didn't say you could leave." 

Jounouchi glared. "You don't own me." 

"You're the masochist here; maybe you want to be owned." Jounouchi gawked for a second; was that a bit of humor he saw sparkling in the ice that was Seto Kaiba? 

"Get help," Jounouchi said, shaking off his awe and rolling his eyes. He tried to wrench his wrist of Seto's grip, but to no avail. 

"How original," Seto mocked before he yanked Jounouchi down, kissing him fiercely. Jounouchi had to hold onto the arm of the chair to stay upright, lost for a moment in the waves of that kiss, enthralled as that tongue explored him at leisure, caressed his own, teased him until finally someone had to break, someone had to breathe. Jounouchi wasn't sure who pulled away. "There," Seto mumbled against his lips. "Now you can go." 

Jounouchi lingered for a moment, trying to subdue the weakness in his knees. Maybe things would be more difficult, but if he kept getting kisses like that, then he wouldn't have enough of a brain to care. Finally he pushed himself upright and smiled, licking his lips. "Who would think…?" 

"What?" 

"You taste sweet." 

"Don't be fooled," Seto assured him. "I had fruit for breakfast." 

Jounouchi laughed. "Good job. You just made a joke." He thought for a minute, and then said, "And come to think of it… I don't think I'm in any hurry to leave." 

**- end _In Saecula Saeculorum_ -**

* * *

holy shit… are we done? *weeps* Wait, not quite yet; I still have three side fics. Not quite ready to let go yet. Heh… (for the record, one of the side fics will never see FF.net because it's actually a PWP JouxRyou about the creation of that porn tape. It's called "Homemade", and I have no clue when it'll get posted, lmao). 

It was really funny; my dearest Hanachan kept complaining about the distinct lack of setoxjou sex, but I never felt that it fit. So I finally appeased her and asked her if sex fit at the end of this part… but luckily we both agreed that this was the ending; the sex would kill it 

Awww man. I can't believe this is finished! It's actually really depressing. In a nice way. I hope I didn't kill it; I really hope that it came out alright. I have to say that in this story, Yami is my favorite character. Weird, because he only shows up three times - four if you count the Halloween party - but each time I love how he turned out. 

All you reviewers - both to this story, and third grade logic: thank you so very, very, VERY much. Holy damn. I'm glad anyone has liked it. It's been a fun ride, right? I had fun. 

Random fact: the original ending of the story was different. Very different. I prefer this ending. ^^ Obviously. And I do think that Yami gets royally screwed in this entire scenario, but there was really no way around it, you know? 

Well... I guess we're done. Wow. OH! I have a page on my site dedicate to cuts from this & Third Grade Logic... and a page of random beta humor related to this story. All found:  


http : // www. geocities. com / enjoythehiatus / extras / cutstgliss.html 

  
without all those damn spaces, of course. ^^ 


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